scholarly journals In silico analyses for potential key genes associated with gastric cancer

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e6092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Yan ◽  
Yingchun He ◽  
Kexin Xie ◽  
Shan Kong ◽  
Weidong Zhao

Background Understanding hub genes involved in gastric cancer (GC) metastasis could lead to effective approaches to diagnose and treat cancer. In this study, we aim to identify the hub genes and investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of GC. Methods To explore potential therapeutic targets for GC,three expression profiles (GSE54129, GSE33651, GSE81948) of the genes were extracted from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The GEO2R online tool was applied to screen out differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between GC and normal gastric samples. Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery was applied to perform Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of these DEGs was constructed using a STRING online software. The hub genes were identified by the CytoHubba plugin of Cytoscape software. Then, the prognostic value of these identified genes was verified by gastric cancer database derived from Kaplan-Meier plotter platform. Results A total of 85 overlapped upregulated genes and 44 downregulated genes were identified. The majority of the DEGs were enriched in extracellular matrix organization, endodermal cell differentiation, and endoderm formation. Moreover, five KEGG pathways were significantly enriched, including ECM-receptor interaction, amoebiasis, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, focal adhesion, protein digestion and absorption. By combining the results of PPI network and CytoHubba, a total of nine hub genes including COL1A1, THBS1, MMP2, CXCL8, FN1, TIMP1, SPARC, COL4A1, and ITGA5 were selected. The Kaplan-Meier plotter database confirmed that overexpression levels of these genes were associated with reduced overall survival, except for THBS1 and CXCL8. Conclusions Our study suggests that COL1A1, MMP2, FN1, TIMP1, SPARC, COL4A1, and ITGA5 may be potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for GC. Further study is needed to assess the effect of THBS1 and CXCL8 on GC.

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Cao ◽  
Yan Chen ◽  
Miao Zhang ◽  
De-quan Xu ◽  
Yan Liu ◽  
...  

Objective Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. In the current study, we aim to identify the hub genes and uncover the molecular mechanisms of GC. Methods The expression profiles of the genes and the miRNAs were extracted from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The identification of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including miRNAs, was performed by the GEO2R. Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery was used to perform GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network and miRNA-gene network were constructed using Cytoscape software. The hub genes were identified by the Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) plugin, the CytoHubba plugin and miRNA-gene network. Then, the identified genes were verified by Kaplan–Meier plotter database and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in GC tissue samples. Results A total of three mRNA expression profiles (GSE13911, GSE79973 and GSE19826) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, including 69, 20 and 27cases separately. A total of 120 overlapped upregulated genes and 246 downregulated genes were identified. The majority of the DEGs were enriched in extracellular matrix organization, collagen catabolic process, collagen fibril organization and cell adhesion. In addition, three KEGG pathways were significantly enriched, including ECM-receptor interaction, protein digestion and absorption, and the focal adhesion pathways. In the PPI network, five significant modules were detected, while the genes in the modules were mainly involved in the ECM-receptor interaction and focal adhesion pathways. By combining the results of MCODE, CytoHubba and miRNA-gene network, a total of six hub genes including COL1A2, COL1A1, COL4A1, COL5A2, THBS2 and ITGA5 were chosen. The Kaplan–Meier plotter database confirmed that higher expression levels of these genes were related to lower overall survival, except for COL5A2. Experimental validation showed that the rest of the five genes had the same expression trend as predicted. Conclusion In conclusion, COL1A2, COL1A1, COL4A1, THBS2 and ITGA5 may be potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for GC. Moreover, ECM-receptor interaction and focal adhesion pathways play significant roles in the progression of GC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 267-279
Author(s):  
Xianyang Zhu ◽  
Wen Guo

<b><i>Background:</i></b> This study aimed to screen and validate the crucial genes involved in osteoarthritis (OA) and explore its potential molecular mechanisms. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Four expression profile datasets related to OA were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from 4 microarray patterns were identified by the meta-analysis method. The weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) method was used to investigate stable modules most related to OA. In addition, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was built to explore hub genes in OA. Moreover, OA-related genes and pathways were retrieved from Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). <b><i>Results:</i></b> A total of 1,136 DEGs were identified from 4 datasets. Based on these DEGs, WGCNA further explored 370 genes included in the 3 OA-related stable modules. A total of 10 hub genes were identified in the PPI network, including <i>AKT1</i>, <i>CDC42</i>, <i>HLA-DQA2</i>, <i>TUBB</i>, <i>TWISTNB</i>, <i>GSK3B</i>, <i>FZD2</i>, <i>KLC1</i>, <i>GUSB</i>, and <i>RHOG</i>. Besides, 5 pathways including “Lysosome,” “Pathways in cancer,” “Wnt signaling pathway,” “ECM-receptor interaction” and “Focal adhesion” in CTD and enrichment analysis and 5 OA-related hub genes (including <i>GSK3B, CDC42, AKT1, FZD2</i>, and <i>GUSB</i>) were identified. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> In this study, the meta-analysis was used to screen the central genes associated with OA in a variety of gene expression profiles. Three OA-related modules (green, turquoise, and yellow) containing 370 genes were identified through WGCNA. It was discovered through the gene-pathway network that <i>GSK3B, CDC42, AKT1, FZD2</i>, <i>and GUSB</i> may be key genes related to the progress of OA and may become promising therapeutic targets.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 623.1-623
Author(s):  
C. Wang ◽  
S. X. Zhang ◽  
S. Song ◽  
J. Qiao ◽  
R. Zhao ◽  
...  

Background:Nephritis is one of the predominant causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with lupus1 2.The lack of understanding regarding the molecular mechanisms of lupus nephritis(LN) hinders the development of specific targeted therapy for this progressive disease3.Objectives:In this study, we use bioinformatics method to analyze the genes involved in regulating the potential pathogenesis of LN.Methods:The expression profile of LN(GSE104948 and GSE32591) was obtained from the GEO database.GSE104948 was a memory chip, which included 32 LN glomerular biopsy tissues and 3 glomerular tissues from living donors.GSE32591 dataset included 32 LN glomerular biopsy tissues and 15 glomerular tissues from living donors. The Oligo package was used to process the data to obtain the expression matrix files of all the related genes.P<0.05 and |log2(FC)|>2 were setted as cut-off criteria for the DEGs.Ggplot2, heatmap packages were used to DEGs visualization. Metascape online tool was used to annotating DEGs for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis performed.We used STRING online database to construct protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Hub genes were identified by Cytoscape.Results:In differential expression analysis,357 DEGs were identified,including 248 up-regulated genes and 109 down-regulated genes (Figure 1A,B).GO enrichment showed that these DEGs were primarily enriched in biological pathways, cell localization and molecular function and revealed that LN-related genes mainly involved in immune response.KEGG pathway annotation enrichment analysis revealed these DEGs were closely associated with Staphylococcus aureus infection,Complement and coagulation cascades (Figure 1D). Fourteen hub genes(IFT3,IRF7,OAS3,GBP2,RSAD2,MX1,IFIT2,IFI6,MX2,ISF15,IFIT1,QAS2,OASL,OAS1) were identified from PPI network (Figure 1C,E).Conclusion:Illuminating the molecular mechanisms of LN was help for deep understanding of LN.References:[1]Song J, Zhao L, Li Y. Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of mRNA expression profiles and identification of a miRNA-mRNA network associated with lupus nephritis. Lupus 2020;29(8):854-61. doi: 10.1177/0961203320925155 [published Online First: 2020/05/22].[2]Yao F, Sun L, Fang W, et al. HsamiR3715p inhibits human mesangial cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis in lupus nephritis by directly targeting hypoxiainducible factor 1alpha. Mol Med Rep 2016;14(6):5693-98. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2016.5939 [published Online First: 2016/11/24].[3]Dall’Era M. Treatment of lupus nephritis: current paradigms and emerging strategies. Curr Opin Rheumatol 2017;29(3):241-47. doi: 10.1097/BOR.0000000000000381 [published Online First: 2017/02/17].Acknowledgements:This project was supported by National Science Foundation of China (82001740), Open Fund from the Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology (Shanxi Medical University) (KLCP2019) and Innovation Plan for Postgraduate Education in Shanxi Province (2020BY078).Disclosure of Interests:None declared


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weina Lu ◽  
Ran Ji

Abstract Background and Aims: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is one of the most common acute thoracopathy with complicated pathogenesis in ICU. The study is to explore the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the lung tissue and underlying altering mechanisms in ARDS.Methods: Gene expression profiles of GSE2411 and GSE130936 were available from GEO database, both of them included in GPL 339. Then, an integrated analysis of these genes was performed, including gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction, Transcription Factors (TFs) forecasting, and their expression in varied organs.Results: A total of 39 differential expressed genes were screened from the datasets, including 39 up-regulated genes and 0 down-regulated genes. The up-regulated genes were mainly enriched in the biological process, such as immune system process, innate immune response, inflammatory response, cellular response to interferon-beta and also involved in some signal pathways, including cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, salmonella infection, legionellosis, chemokine, and Toll-like receptor signal pathway. GBP2, IFIT2 and IFIT3 were identified as hub genes in the lung by PPI network analysis with MCODE plug-in, as well as GO and KEGG re-enrichment. All of the three hub genes were regulated by the predictive common TFs, including STAT1, E2F1, IRF1, IRF2, and IRF9. Conclusions: This study implied that hub gene GBP2, IFIT2 and IFIT3, which might be regulated by STAT1, E2F1, IRF1, IRF2, or IRF9, played significant roles in ARDS. They could be potential diagnostic or therapeutic targets for ARDS patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Weina Lu ◽  
Ran Ji

Abstract Background and aims Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or acute lung injury (ALI) is one of the most common acute thoracopathy with complicated pathogenesis in ICU. The study is to explore the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the lung tissue and underlying altering mechanisms in ARDS. Methods Gene expression profiles of GSE2411 and GSE130936 were available from GEO database, both of them included in GPL339. Then, an integrated analysis of these genes was performed, including gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis in DAVID database, protein–protein interaction (PPI) network construction evaluated by the online database STRING, Transcription Factors (TFs) forecasting based on the Cytoscape plugin iRegulon, and their expression in varied organs in The Human Protein Atlas. Results A total of 39 differential expressed genes were screened from the two datasets, including 39 up-regulated genes and 0 down-regulated genes. The up-regulated genes were mainly enriched in the biological process, such as immune system process, innate immune response, inflammatory response, and also involved in some signal pathways, including cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction, Salmonella infection, Legionellosis, Chemokine, and Toll-like receptor signal pathway with an integrated analysis. GBP2, IFIT2 and IFIT3 were identified as hub genes in the lung by PPI network analysis with MCODE plug-in, as well as GO and KEGG re-enrichment. All of the three hub genes were regulated by the predictive common TFs, including STAT1, E2F1, IRF1, IRF2, and IRF9. Conclusions This study implied that hub gene GBP2, IFIT2 and IFIT3, which might be regulated by STAT1, E2F1, IRF1, IRF2, or IRF9, played significant roles in ARDS. They could be potential diagnostic or therapeutic targets for ARDS patients.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenhe Yao ◽  
Xiaoling Zhao ◽  
Xuemeng Shang ◽  
Binghan Jia ◽  
Shuaijie Dou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a heterogeneous and rare malignant tumor associated with a poor prognosis. The molecular mechanisms of ACC remain elusive and more accurate biomarkers for the prediction of prognosis are needed.Methods: In this study, integrative profiling analyses were performed to identify novel hub genes in ACC to provide promising targets for future investigation. Three gene expression profiling datasets in the GEO database were used for the identification of overlapped differentially expressed genes (DEGs) following the criteria of adj.P.Value<0.05 and |log2 FC|>0.5 in ACC. Novel hub genes were screened out following a series of processes: the retrieval of DEGs with no known associations with ACC on Pubmed, then the cross-validation of expression values and significant associations with overall survival in the GEPIA2 and starBase databases, and finally the prediction of gene-tumor association in the GeneCards database.Results: Four novel hub genes were identified and two of them, TPX2 and RACGAP1, were positively correlated with the staging. Interestingly, co-expression analysis revealed that the association between TPX2 and RACGAP1 was the strongest and that the expression of HOXA5 was almost completely independent of that of RACGAP1 and TPX2. Furthermore, the PPI network consisting of four novel genes and seed genes in ACC revealed that HOXA5, TPX2, and RACGAP1 were all associated with TP53. Conclusions: This study identified four novel hub genes (TPX2, RACHAP1, HXOA5 and FMO2) that may play crucial roles in the tumorigenesis and the prediction of prognosis of ACC.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongpeng Fang ◽  
Zhansen Huang ◽  
Xianzi Zeng ◽  
Jiaming Wan ◽  
Jieying Wu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background As a common malignant cancer of the urinary system, the precise molecular mechanisms of bladder cancer remain to be illuminated. The purpose of this study was to identify core genes with prognostic value as potential oncogenes for the diagnosis, prognosis or novel therapeutic targets of bladder cancer. Methods The gene expression profiles GSE3167 and GSE7476 were available from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Next, PPI network was built to filter the hub gene through the STRING database and Cytoscape software and GEPIA and Kaplan-Meier plotter were implemented. Frequency and type of hub genes and sub groups analysis were performed in cBioportal and ULCAN database. Finally,We used RT-qPCR to confirm our results. Results Totally, 251 DEGs were excavated from two datasets in our study. We only founded high expression of SMC4, TYMS, CCNB1, CKS1B, NUSAP1 and KPNA2 was associated with worse outcomes in bladder cancer patients and no matter from the type of mutation or at the transcriptional level of hub genes, the tumor showed a high form of expression. However, only the expression of SMC4,CCNB1and CKS1B remained changed between the cancer and the normal samples in our results of RT-qPCR. Conclusion In conclusion,These findings indicate that the SMC4,CCNB1 and CKS1B may serve as critical biomarkers in the development and poor prognosis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui-sheng Zhou ◽  
Xiong-Wen Wang ◽  
Qin-feng Sun ◽  
Zeng Jie Ye ◽  
Jian-wei Liu ◽  
...  

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary cause of cancer-related death in the world. Despite the fact that there are many methods to treat HCC, the 5-year survival rate of HCC is still at a low level. Emodin can inhibit the growth of HCC cells invitroand invivo. However, the gene regulation of emodin in HCC has not been well studied. In our research, RNA sequencing technology was used to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in HepG2 cells induced by emodin. A total of 859 DEGs were identified, including 712 downregulated genes and 147 upregulated genes in HepG2 cells treated with emodin. We used DAVID for function and pathway enrichment analysis. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using STRING, and Cytoscape was used for module analysis. The enriched functions and pathways of the DEGs include positive regulation of apoptotic process, structural molecule activity and lipopolysaccharide binding, protein digestion and absorption, ECM-receptor interaction, complement and coagulation cascades, and MAPK signaling pathway. 25 hub genes were identified and pathway analysis revealed that these genes were mainly enriched in neuropeptide signaling pathway, inflammatory response, and positive regulation of cytosolic calcium ion concentration. Survival analysis showed that LPAR6, C5, SSTR5, GPR68, and P2RY4 may be involved in the molecular mechanisms of emodin therapy for HCC. A quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay showed that the mRNA levels of LPAR6, C5, SSTR5, GPR68, and P2RY4 were significantly decreased in HepG2 cells treated with emodin. In conclusion, the identified DEGs and hub genes in the present study provide new clues for further researches on the molecular mechanisms of emodin.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Wang ◽  
Licheng Wang ◽  
Shusheng Wu ◽  
Dongsheng Zhou ◽  
Xianming Wang

Emerging evidence indicates that various functional genes with altered expression are involved in the tumor progression of human cancers. This study is aimed at identifying novel key genes that may be used for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis, prognosis, and targeted therapy. This study included 3 expression profiles (GSE45267, GSE74656, and GSE84402), which were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). GEO2R was used to analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between HCC and normal samples. The functional and pathway enrichment analysis was performed by the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of the identified DEGs was constructed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Gene, and hub genes were identified. ONCOMINE and CCLE databases were used to verify the expression of the hub genes in HCC tissues and cells. Kaplan-Meier plotter was used to assess the effects of the hub genes on the overall survival of HCC patients. A total of 99 DEGs were identified from the 3 expression profiles. These DEGs were enriched with functional processes and pathways related to HCC pathogenesis. From the PPI network, 5 hub genes were identified. The expression of the 5 hub genes was all upregulated in HCC tissues and cells compared with the control tissues and cells. Kaplan-Meier survival curves indicated that high expression of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK1), cyclin B1 (CCNB1), cyclin B2 (CCNB2), MAD2 mitotic arrest deficient-like 1 (MAD2L1), and topoisomerase IIα (TOP2A) predicted poor overall survival in HCC patients (all log-rank P<0.01). These results revealed that the DEGs may serve as candidate key genes during HCC pathogenesis. The 5 hub genes, including CDK1, CCNB1, CCNB2, MAD2L1, and TOP2A, may serve as promising prognostic biomarkers in HCC.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujia Liu ◽  
Xiaoping Hu ◽  
Zongfu Pan ◽  
Yuchen Jiang ◽  
Dandan Guo ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Gastric cancer is one of the most common fatal disease worldwide, but its mechanism and therapeutic targets are still unclear. In this study, we have analyzed the differences in gene modules and key pathways in gastric cancer patients, then elaborated the mechanism and effective treatment of gastric cancer with microarray data from the gene expression omnibus(GEO) database. Methods: GEO2R tools were used to identify differential expression genes (DEGs), String database was employed to construct a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. We imported the PPI network into the Cytoscape software to find key nodes, and employed statistical approach of MCODE to cluster genes. After that the ClueGO was used to enrich and annotate the pathways of key modules. To investigate the relationship between the upstream regulator and hub genes, the transcriptional regulatory network was built based on TFCAT database. Results: 63 characteristic genes of gastric cancer are involved in regulation of ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion and protein digestion and absorption. SPARC, FN1, BGN and COL1A2 are four key nodes relating to tumor proliferation and metastasis, and their expression were strongly associated with poor survival (p<0.05). 13 transcription factors including PRRX1 have remarkable changes in gastric cancer, which may play a key role in hub gene regulation. Conclusions: The present study defined the gene expression characteristics and transcriptional regulatory network that promote our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of gastric cancer, and might provide new insights into targeted therapy and prognostic markers for the personalized treatment of gastric cancer.


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