Abstract
This study investigates the prognostic significance of SH3 and multiple ankyrin repeat domains 2 (SHANK2) gene expression in glioma patients, using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project, and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Through comprehensive analysis, we found a significant association between higher SHANK2 expression and improved survival outcomes across various glioma subtypes. To further validate the clinical relevance of SHANK2, we conducted cellular experiments involving siRNA-mediated knockdown of SHANK2 in U87 and A172 glioma cell lines. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and Western blot analyses confirmed the successful knockdown of SHANK2, and subsequent MTT assays revealed that silencing SHANK2 significantly promoted glioma cell proliferation. These findings underscore the potential role of SHANK2 as a tumor suppressor in glioma. The study also introduces a multivariate prognostic model incorporating SHANK2, providing a novel perspective on glioma prognosis. While the retrospective nature of the study presents limitations, our results suggest that SHANK2 expression could serve as a valuable biomarker for glioma prognosis and inform future therapeutic strategies.