scholarly journals Identification of critical pathways and potential therapeutic targets in Poorly differentiated duodenal papilla adenocarcinoma

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanxiang Lu ◽  
Wensen Li ◽  
Ge Liu ◽  
Erwei Xiao ◽  
Senmao Mu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Duodenal papilla carcinoma (DPC) is a rare malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract with high recurrence rate, and the pathogenesis of this highly malignant neoplasm is yet to be fully elucidated. This study aims to identify key genes to further understand the biology and pathogenesis underlying the molecular alterations driving DPC, which could be potential diagnostic or therapeutic targets.Methods: Tumor samples of three DPC patients were collected and integrating RNA-seq analysis of tumor tissues and matched normal tissues were performed to discover differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were carried out to understand the potential bio-functions of the DPC differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed for functional modules analysis and dentification of hub genes. Results: A total of 110 DEGs were identified from our RNA-Seq data, GO and KEGG analyses showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in multiple cancer-related functions and pathways, such as cell proliferation, IL-17signaling pathway, Jak-STAT signaling pathway, PPAR signaling pathway. The PPI network screened out six hub genes including IL-6, LEP, LCN2, CCND1, FABP4 and MMP1, which were identified as core genes in the network and potential therapeutic targets of DPC. Discussion: The current study provides new insight into the exploration of DPC pathogenesis and the screened hub genes may serve as potential diagnostic indicator and novel therapeutic target.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanxiang Lu ◽  
Wensen Li ◽  
Ge Liu ◽  
Yongbo Yang ◽  
Erwei Xiao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Duodenal papilla carcinoma (DPC) is a rare malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract with high recurrence rate, and the pathogenesis of this highly malignant neoplasm is yet to be fully elucidated. This study aims to identify key genes to further understand the biology and pathogenesis underlying the molecular alterations driving DPC, which could be potential diagnostic or therapeutic targets. Methods Tumor samples of three DPC patients were collected and integrating RNA-seq analysis of tumor tissues and matched normal tissues were performed to discover differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis were carried out to understand the potential bio-functions of the DPC differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed for functional modules analysis and identification of hub genes. qRT-PCR of clinical samples was conducted to validate the expression level of the hub genes. Results A total of 110 DEGs were identified from our RNA-seq data, GO and KEGG analyses showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in multiple cancer-related functions and pathways, such as cell proliferation, IL-17signaling pathway, Jak-STAT signaling pathway, PPAR signaling pathway. The PPI network screened out five hub genes including IL-6, LCN2, FABP4, LEP and MMP1, which were identified as core genes in the network and the expression value were validated by qRT-PCR. The hub genes identified in this work were suggested to be potential therapeutic targets of DPC. Discussion The current study may provide new insight into the exploration of DPC pathogenesis and the screened hub genes may serve as potential diagnostic indicator and novel therapeutic target.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xue Fan ◽  
Meng Li ◽  
Min Xiao ◽  
Cong Liu ◽  
Mingguo Xu

Abstract Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) leads to coronary artery damage and the etiology of KD is unknown. The present study was designed to explore the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in KD serum-induced human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) by RNA-sequence (RNA-seq). Methods: HCAECs were stimulated with serum (15% (v/v)), which were collected from 20 healthy children and 20 KD patients, for 24 hours. DEGs were then detected and analyzed by RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis. Results: The expression of SMAD1, SMAD6, CD34, CXCL1, PITX2, and APLN was validated by qPCR. 102 genes, 59 up-regulated and 43 down-regulated genes, were significantly differentially expressed in KD groups. GO enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were enriched in cellular response to cytokines, cytokine-mediated signaling pathway, and regulation of immune cells migration and chemotaxis. KEGG signaling pathway analysis showed that DEGs were mainly involved in cytokine−cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine signaling pathway, and TGF−β signaling pathway. Besides, the mRNA expression levels of SMAD1, SMAD6, CD34, CXCL1, and APLN in the KD group were significantly up-regulated compared with the normal group, whilePITX2 was significantly down-regulated. Conclusion: 102 DEGs in KD serum-induced HCAECs were identified, and six new targets were proposed as potential indicators of KD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 030006051988726
Author(s):  
Yuting Zhang ◽  
Bo Shen ◽  
Liya Zhuge ◽  
Yong Xie

Objective We aimed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEG) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods RNA-seq data were obtained from the Array Express database. DEG were identified using the edgeR package. A co-expression network was constructed and key modules with the highest correlation with IBD inflammatory sites were identified for analysis. The Cytoscape MCODE plugin was used to identify key sub-modules of the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network. The genes in the sub-modules were considered hub genes, and functional enrichment analysis was performed. Furthermore, we constructed a drug–gene interaction network. Finally, we visualized the hub gene expression pattern between the colon and ileum of IBD using the ggpubr package and analyzed it using the Wilcoxon test. Results DEG were identified between the colon and ileum of IBD patients. Based on the co-expression network, the green module had the highest correlation with IBD inflammatory sites. In total, 379 DEG in the green module were identified for the PPI network. Nineteen hub genes were differentially expressed between the colon and ileum. The drug–gene network identified these hub genes as potential drug targets. Conclusion Nineteen DEG were identified between the colon and ileum of IBD patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 147032032091963
Author(s):  
Xiaoxue Chen ◽  
Mindan Sun

Purpose: This study aims to identify immunoglobulin-A-nephropathy-related genes based on microarray data and to investigate novel potential gene targets for immunoglobulin-A-nephropathy treatment. Methods: Immunoglobulin-A-nephropathy chip data was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, which included 10 immunoglobulin-A-nephropathy and 22 normal samples. We used the limma package of R software to screen differentially expressed genes in immunoglobulin-A-nephropathy and normal glomerular compartment tissues. Functional enrichment (including cellular components, molecular functions, biological processes) and signal pathways were performed for the differentially expressed genes. The online analysis database (STRING) was used to construct the protein-protein interaction networks of differentially expressed genes, and Cytoscape software was used to identify the hub genes of the signal pathway. In addition, we used the Connectivity Map database to predict possible drugs for the treatment of immunoglobulin-A-nephropathy. Results: A total of 348 differentially expressed genes were screened including 107 up-regulated and 241 down-regulated genes. Functional analysis showed that up-regulated differentially expressed genes were mainly concentrated on leukocyte migration, and the down-regulated differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in alpha-amino acid metabolic process. A total of six hub genes were obtained: JUN, C3AR1, FN1, AGT, FOS, and SUCNR1. The small-molecule drugs thapsigargin, ciclopirox and ikarugamycin were predicted therapeutic targets against immunoglobulin-A-nephropathy. Conclusion: Differentially expressed genes and hub genes can contribute to understanding the molecular mechanism of immunoglobulin-A-nephropathy and providing potential therapeutic targets and drugs for the diagnosis and treatment of immunoglobulin-A-nephropathy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunchen Xiang ◽  
Shengri Cong ◽  
Bin Liang ◽  
Shuyan Cong

Abstract Background Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by psychiatric symptoms, serious motor and cognitive deficits. Certain pathological changes can already be observed in pre-symptomatic HD (pre-HD) patients; however, the underlying molecular pathogenesis is still uncertain and no effective treatments are available until now. Here, we reanalyzed HD-related differentially expressed genes from the GEO database between symptomatic HD patients, pre-HD individuals, and healthy controls using bioinformatics analysis, hoping to get more insight in the pathogenesis of both pre-HD and HD, and shed a light in the potential therapeutic targets of the disease. Methods Pre-HD and symptomatic HD differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened by bioinformatics analysis Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset GSE1751. A protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was used to select hub genes. Subsequently, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of DEGs and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis of hub genes were applied. Dataset GSE24250 was downloaded to verify our hub genes by the Kaplan–Meier method using Graphpad Prism 5.0. Finally, target miRNAs of intersected hub genes involved in pre-HD and symptomatic HD were predicted. Results A total of 37 and 985 DEGs were identified in pre-HD and symptomatic HD, respectively. The hub genes, SIRT1, SUZ12, and PSMC6, may be implicated in pre-HD, and the hub genes, FIS1, SIRT1, CCNH, SUZ12, and 10 others, may be implicated in symptomatic HD. The intersected hub genes, SIRT1 and SUZ12, and their predicted target miRNAs, in particular miR-22-3p and miR-19b, may be significantly associated with pre-HD. Conclusion The PSMC6, SIRT1, and SUZ12 genes and their related ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, transcriptional dysregulation, and histone metabolism are significantly associated with pre-HD. FIS1, CCNH, and their related mitochondrial disruption and transcriptional dysregulation processes are related to symptomatic HD, which might shed a light on the elucidation of potential therapeutic targets in HD.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Churen Zhang ◽  
Ruoran Sun

Abstract Background. Among the diseases of oral mucosa, oral lichen planus (OLP) is characterized by chronic autoimmune/autoinflammation. However, the etiology and pathogenesis of OLP were still limited. The aim of this research was to identify the differentially expressed genes and their potentially interacted miRNAs in OLP to provide a possible explanation of the pathogenesis of OLP and therapeutic biomarkers.Methods. The OLP microarray dataset (GSE52130) was download from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. R software was used to identify differentially expressed genes between the OLP samples and normal oral mucosa. Functional enrichment analysis of DEGs, including Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway, were conducted. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis was performed in the STRING database. CytoHubba in the Cytoscape software was applied to determining the top 10 hub genes, whose relative miRNA was identified through RNA Interactome Database.Results. Overall, 627 DEGs was identified in OLP samples, including 351 highly expressed genes and 276 lowly expressed genes. GO analysis indicated that the epidermal differentiation was mostly enriched. For the KEGG pathway, the DEGs in OLP samples were mostly involved in Staphylococcus aureus infection, Estrogen signaling pathway, Serotonergic synapse and Histidine metabolism. Top 10 hub genes including LOR, LCE3D, LCE3E, LCE1B, LCE2B, SPRR2E, SPRR2G, LCE2A, RPTN and CDSN were identified from the PPI network. The miRNA (hsa-miR-98-5p) was regarded as the mostly possible miRNA involved in OLP.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Da-Qiu Chen ◽  
Xiang-Sheng Kong ◽  
Xue-Bin Shen ◽  
Mao-Zhi Huang ◽  
Jian-Ping Zheng ◽  
...  

Background. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a common disease with high morbidity and mortality around the world. The aim of this research was to determine the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which may serve as potential therapeutic targets or new biomarkers in AMI. Methods. From the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, three gene expression profiles (GSE775, GSE19322, and GSE97494) were downloaded. To identify the DEGs, integrated bioinformatics analysis and robust rank aggregation (RRA) method were applied. These DEGs were performed through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses by using Clusterprofiler package. In order to explore the correlation between these DEGs, the interaction network of protein-protein internet (PPI) was constructed using the STRING database. Utilizing the MCODE plug-in of Cytoscape, the module analysis was performed. Utilizing the cytoHubba plug-in, the hub genes were screened out. Results. 57 DEGs in total were identified, including 2 down- and 55 upregulated genes. These DEGs were mainly enriched in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, and so on. The module analysis filtered out 18 key genes, including Cxcl5, Arg1, Cxcl1, Spp1, Selp, Ptx3, Tnfaip6, Mmp8, Serpine1, Ptgs2, Il6, Il1r2, Il1b, Ccl3, Ccr1, Hmox1, Cxcl2, and Ccl2. Ccr1 was the most fundamental gene in PPI network. 4 hub genes in total were identified, including Cxcl1, Cxcl2, Cxcl5, and Mmp8. Conclusion. This study may provide credible molecular biomarkers in terms of screening, diagnosis, and prognosis for AMI. Meanwhile, it also serves as a basis for exploring new therapeutic target for AMI.


2022 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengqing Wan ◽  
Haofeng Xiong ◽  
Xian Tan ◽  
Tong Su ◽  
Kun Xia ◽  
...  

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. Due to the lack of early detection and treatment, the survival rate of OSCC remains poor and the incidence of OSCC has not decreased during the past decades. To explore potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for OSCC, we analyzed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with OSCC using RNA sequencing technology. Methylation−regulated and differentially expressed genes (MeDEGs) of OSCC were further identified via an integrative approach by examining publicly available methylomic datasets together with our transcriptomic data. Protein−protein interaction (PPI) networks of MeDEGs were constructed and highly connected hub MeDEGs were identified from these PPI networks. Subsequently, expression and survival analyses of hub genes were performed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) online tool. A total of 56 upregulated MeDEGs and 170 downregulated MeDEGs were identified in OSCC. Eleven hub genes with high degree of connectivity were picked out from the PPI networks constructed by those MeDEGs. Among them, the expression level of four hub genes (CTLA4, CDSN, ACTN2, and MYH11) were found to be significantly changed in the head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSC) patients. Three hypomethylated hub genes (CTLA4, GPR29, and TNFSF11) and one hypermethylated hub gene (ISL1) were found to be significantly associated with overall survival (OS) of HNSC patients. Therefore, these hub genes may serve as potential DNA methylation biomarkers and therapeutic targets of OSCC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Linjie Fang ◽  
Tingyu Tang ◽  
Mengqi Hu

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is acutely infectious pneumonia. Currently, the specific causes and treatment targets of COVID-19 are still unclear. Herein, comprehensive bioinformatics methods were employed to analyze the hub genes in COVID-19 and tried to reveal its potential mechanisms. First of all, 34 groups of COVID-19 lung tissues and 17 other diseases’ lung tissues were selected from the GSE151764 gene expression profile for research. According to the analysis of the DEGs (differentially expressed genes) in the samples using the limma software package, 84 upregulated DEGs and 46 downregulated DEGs were obtained. Later, by the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), they were enriched in the Gene Ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. It was found that the upregulated DEGs were enriched in the type I interferon signaling pathway, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, coronavirus disease, etc. Downregulated DEGs were in cellular response to cytokine stimulus, IL-17 signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, etc. Then, based on GSEA, the enrichment of the gene set in the sample was analyzed in the GO terms, and the gene set was enriched in the positive regulation of myeloid leukocyte cytokine production involved in immune response, programmed necrotic cell death, translesion synthesis, necroptotic process, and condensed nuclear chromosome. Finally, with the help of STRING tools, the PPI (protein-protein interaction) network diagrams of DEGs were constructed. With degree ≥13 as the cutoff degree, 3 upregulated hub genes (ISG15, FN1, and HLA-G) and 4 downregulated hub genes (FOXP3, CXCR4, MMP9, and CD69) were screened out for high degree. All these findings will help us to understand the potential molecular mechanisms of COVID-19, which is also of great significance for its diagnosis and prevention.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinlin Shi ◽  
Bo Tang ◽  
Yanping Li ◽  
Yonglin Li ◽  
Tao Lin ◽  
...  

Objective: Wilms tumor (WT) is a common malignant solid tumor in children. Many tumor biomarkers have been reported; however, there are poorly targetable molecular mechanisms which have been defined in WT. This study aimed to identify the oncogene in WT and explore the potential mechanisms.Methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in three independent RNA-seq datasets were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas data portal and the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GSE66405 and GSE73209). The common DEGs were then subjected to Gene Ontology enrichment analysis, protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, and gene set enrichment analysis. The protein expression levels of the hub gene were analyzed by immunohistochemical analysis and Western blotting in a 60 WT sample. The univariate Kaplan–Meier analysis for overall survival was performed, and the log-rank test was utilized. A small interfering RNA targeting cell division cycle 20 (CDC20) was transfected into G401 and SK-NEP-1 cell lines. The Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and wound healing assay were used to observe the changes in cell proliferation and migration after transfection. Flow cytometry was used to detect the effect on the cell cycle. Western blot was conducted to study the changes of related functional proteins.Results: We commonly identified 44 upregulation and 272 downregulation differentially expressed genes in three independent RNA-seq datasets. Gene and pathway enrichment analyses of the regulatory networks involving hub genes suggested that cell cycle changes are crucial in WT. The top 15 highly connected genes were found by PPI network analysis. Furthermore, we demonstrated that one candidate biomarker, CDC20, for the diagnosis of WT was detected, and its high expression predicted poor prognosis of WT patients. Moreover, the area under the curve value obtained by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis from paired WT samples was 0.9181. Finally, we found that the suppression of CDC20 inhibited proliferation and migration and resulted in G2/M phase arrest in WT cells. The mechanism may be involved in increasing the protein level of securin, cyclin B1, and cyclin AConclusion: Our results suggest that CDC20 could serve as a candidate diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for WT, and suppression of CDC20 may be a potential approach for the prevention and treatment of WT.


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