Identification of Hub Genes for Controlling Cancer Stem Cell Characteristics in Colorectal Cancer by Bioinformatics Analysis
Abstract Background Cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are capable of infinite proliferation and self-renewal, play a crucial role in the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer (CRC). The study of the expression characteristics of CRC stem cell-related genes and their interaction with the immune microenvironment may contribute to CRC treatment. Results In order to explore the hub genes that regulate the stemness characteristics of CRC, we obtained gene expression values of the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), stemness indices (mRNAsi), and corresponding survival data from UCSC Xena Browser. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in cancer and normal tissues. Then we screened 2 modules and 210 mRNAsi-related genes from 4,941 DEGs by weighted gene co-expression network analysis. A prognostic model including ten genes (VCAN, SPARC, COL12A1, THBS2, COL1A2, COL5A1, TAGLN, DCN, MYH11, CDH11) was constructed using protein interaction networks and LASSO regression. We also evaluated the relationship between cancer stemness and immune response and found there was a strong correlation between each other. Conclusions Our study establishes a prognostic model associated with CSCs and reveals the association between mRNAsi and the tumor immune microenvironment, which is useful for the targeted therapy of CRC.