Abstract
Gastric cancer (GC) is a common digestive system malignancy. The aim of this study was to explore the role of Delta/Notch-like epidermal growth factor-related receptor (DNER) in GC patients and cells. Gene expression omnibus data base public databases were used to analyze the DNER expression in GC patient. A total of 30 cases of GC and adjacent tissue samples were retrospectively obtained to analyze the DNER expression. MTT assay was conducted to measure the cell viability. The apoptosis rate of GC cells was determined by flow cytometry. The migration and invasion were detected by transwell assay. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot were performed to measure the DNER expression. Bioinformatics tools exhibited that DNER expression is significantly upregulated in the GC, which was also found in GC tissues and cells. The high levels of DNER were closely related the tumor size, sex and lymph node metastasis. Additionally, the survival rate of patients with high DNER expression is decreased. Furthermore, knockdown of DNER inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion, and induces the apoptosis rate of the GC cells. DNER was upregulated in GC and knockdown of DNER inhibits the growth and metastasis of DNER. DNER may be a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target of GC patients.