Potential Biomarkers of Colon Adenocarcinoma Based on Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis
Abstract Background: Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. Although a large number of studies have elucidated the aetiology of colorectal cancer, the exact mechanism of colorectal cancer development remains to be determined.To identify key modules and prognostic genes that may be involved in the occurrence and development of COAD, weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) and differential expression analysis were performed on datasets GSE41657 and GSE74602 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to screen for prognostic differentially expressed genes. Gene expression profiles and clinical information were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database for verification.Results: Through WGCNA and DEGs analysis, 439 genes in key functional modules were obtained, and 26 prognostic related genes were finally obtained through prognostic analysis: (1) We screened 5 genes(RPP40, DUSP18, PPRC1, MFSD11 and PDCD11) that have not been studied in COAD.(2)We obtained the most critical module in the occurrence and development of colon cancer and obtained one prognosis-related gene, NUP85, from the most critical module.The relationship between it and tumor immune microenvironment was verified.(3) A prognostic model comprising four coexpressed differential genes was constructed; TIMP1, PMM2, E2F3 and MORC2 were selected as the key prognosis-related genes.Conclusions: (1)As new biomarkers,prognostic genes RPP40, DUSP18, PPRC1, MFSD11 and PDCD11 may be potential therapeutic targets for COAD, and provide new ideas for future research on the mechanism of COAD. (2)NUP85 may be an immune-related gene which was negatively correlated with CD4+ T cell and M2 macrophagesthat plays an important role in inhibiting the occurrence and development of colorectal adenocarcinoma. (3)A Cox proportional risk model based on gene expression can be used to predict the prognosis and survival time of patients with colon cancer.