ASF1B, as an Independent Prognostic Biomarker, Correlates with Immune Infiltrates in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the fastest-growing malignancies globally. The impact of surgical treatment is limited, and molecular targeted therapy has not yielded a consistent efficacy. This warrants for identification of novel molecular targets. The anti-silencing function of 1B histone chaperone (ASF1B) previously studied in numerous cancers. However, the understanding of its role in HCC is limited. Methods: The TIMER database used to analyze the ASF1B expression in pan-cancer and para-carcinoma tissues. ASF1B expression in HCC confirmed by using the HCCDB database, Quantitative real-time PCR (q-PCR), and Western blot (WB) assays. The relationship between clinicopathological parameters and ASF1B expression analyzed by using UALCAN, whereas the prognostic value of ASF1B was evaluated using the GEPIA database. Linkedomics and cBioportal databases used to validate the ASF1B co-expression associated with immune infiltration by the TIMER database. Moreover, cell proliferation after ASF1B-knockdown was determined through CCK8 and clone formation assays. Results: ASF1B was highly expressed in HCC tissues and the expression levels were linked to tumor grade, race, and disease stage. Univariate and multivariate Cox models showed that ASF1B is an independent prognostic factor in HCC. CCK8 and clone formation assays demonstrated that ASF1B promotes cell proliferation. Gene co-expression analysis in Linkedomics demonstrated that HJURP, KIF2C, KIF4A, KIF18B, and KIFC1 expression were intimately associated with ASF1B and immune infiltrate cells. Conclusion: This study shows that ASF1B promotes the proliferation of HCC. Besides, ASF1B could be a potential prognostic biomarker for HCC patients.