Comprehensive Analysis of Chromobox 1 Expression, DNA Methylation and Non-Coding RNA Interactions in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Chromobox 1 (CBX1), an epigenetic regulator involved in chromatin remodeling, has been implicated in various cancers; however, its role in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains underexplored. In the present study, a multi-omics bioinformatics approach with datasets from TIMER2.0, GEPIA2, OSlihc, OncoDB, MethSurv, miRNet, and ENCORI was used to investigate CBX1 expression patterns, epigenetic regulation, and non-coding RNA networks in LUAD. CBX1 was shown to be significantly overexpressed in LUAD tissues, with high expression levels correlating with poor prognosis. DNA methylation analysis revealed that hypermethylation of specific CpG sites near CBX1 was associated with elevated expression and adverse clinical outcomes. Notably, hsa-miR-29b-3p and hsa-miR-29c-3p were significantly upregulated in LUAD and were negatively correlated with CBX1 expression, indicating a potential regulatory relationship. Further analysis identified a network of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and pseudogenes that interact with these micro RNAs (miRNAs), several of which are linked to tumor progression and poor prognosis. These findings highlight the CBX1–miRNA–lncRNA axis as a promising target for diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in LUAD, provide system-level insights into its regulatory environment, and support its potential role in precision medicine.