Comprehensive Analysis of Aquaporin Superfamily in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most predomintnt lung cancer subtype with increasing morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have shown that aquaporin (AQP) family genes were correlated with tumor progression and metastasis in several kinds of malignancies. However, their biological behaviors and prognostic values in LUAD have not been comprehensively elucidated.Methods: RNA sequencing and real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) were used to assess AQP1/3/4/5 gene expressions in LUAD patients using GEPIA and UALCAN databases. And then Kaplan–Meier analysis, cBioPortal, Metascape, GeneMANIA, TISIDB, and TIMER were utilized to determine the prognostic value, mutation frequency, and immune cell infiltration of AQP family members in LUAD.Results: We found that AQP3 expression was significantly elevated and AQP1 expression was markedly reduced in LUAD patients, whereas the expression levels of AQP4 and AQP5 exhibited no significant changes. The Kaplan–Meier survival analysis indicated that the higher expressions of AQP1/4/5 were related to longer overall survival (OS). Of interest, AQP3 was significantly correlated with the clinical tumor stage and lower AQP3 expression showed favorable prognosis in stage I LUAD patients, which indicated that AQP3 may be a potential prognostic biomarker for patients. Through functional enrichment analysis, the functions of these four AQPs genes were mainly involved in the passive transport by aquaporins, water homeostasis, and protein tetramerization. Moreover, AQP1/3/4/5 expression was strongly associated with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in LUAD.Conclusion: AQP3 can be used as a prognosis and survival biomarker for stage I LUAD. These findings may provide novel insights into developing molecular targeted therapies in LUAD.

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Identification of nine key genes by bioinformatics analysis for predicting poor prognosis in smoking-induced lung adenocarcinoma

Lung Cancer Management ◽

10.2217/lmt-2020-0009 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. LMT30

Author(s):

Chuanli Ren ◽

Weixiu Sun ◽

Xu Lian ◽

Chongxu Han

Keyword(s):

Lung Adenocarcinoma ◽

Differentially Expressed Genes ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Kaplan Meier ◽

Key Genes ◽

Core Genes

Aim: To screen and identify key genes related to the development of smoking-induced lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Materials & methods: We obtained data from the GEO chip dataset GSE31210. The differentially expressed genes were screened by GEO2R. The protein interaction network of differentially expressed genes was constructed by STRING and Cytoscape. Finally, core genes were screened. The overall survival time of patients with the core genes was analyzed by Kaplan–Meier method. Gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes bioaccumulation was calculated by DAVID. Results: Functional enrichment analysis indicated that nine key genes were actively involved in the biological process of smoking-related LUAD. Conclusion: 23 core genes and nine key genes among them were correlated with adverse prognosis of LUAD induced by smoking.

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SPP1 is a Prognostic Related Biomarker and Correlated With Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells in Ovarian Cancer

10.21203/rs.3.rs-546911/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wen Gao ◽

Sheng Yin ◽

Haiyan Sun ◽

Zhuyan Shao ◽

Peipei Shi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ovarian Cancer ◽

T Cells ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Vital Role ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Immune Infiltration ◽

Kaplan Meier ◽

Secreted Phosphoprotein 1

Abstract Background: Secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) plays a vital role in tumor progression of some cancer types, but little is known whether it is a bystander or an actual player on driving immune infiltration in ovarian cancer.Methods: In this study, the expression of SPP1 was identified by Oncomine, GEPIA and TIMER databases, and SPP1 immumohistochemical staining analysis was assessed by The HPA database. The clinical outcomes between SPP1 expression and ovarian cancer patients were evaluated via Kaplan-Meier Plotter and PrognoScan dataset. Immune infiltration analyses were explored using TIMER and TISIDB dataset. In addition, Functional enrichment analyses were performed with Metascape and GeneMANIA database.Results: SPP1 was found overexpressed in ovarian tumor tissues and high SPP1 expression was correlated with shorter OS and PFS survivals. Particularly, elevated SPP1 expression was significantly associated with stage III ovarian cancer. Notably, SPP1 expression was positively correlated with infiltrating levels of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells. Furthermore, SPP1 expression showed strong correlations with diverse immune hallmark sets in ovarian cancer. Of particular importance, functional enrichment analysis suggested that SPP1 strong related with immune response.Conclusions: These findings imply that SPP1 is correlated with prognosis and immune cell infiltrating, offering a new potential immunotherapeutic target in ovarian cancer.Trial registration: Not applicable.

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SPP1 is a Prognostic Related Biomarker and Correlated with Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1156469/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaofeng Wang ◽

Kun Zhang ◽

Li Geng ◽

DongLi Liu

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

T Cells ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Tumor Promoter ◽

Immune Infiltration ◽

Kaplan Meier ◽

Secreted Phosphoprotein 1

Abstract Background: Secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) functions as a tumor promoter in varies tumors, but little is known whether it is an actual player on driving immune infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: In this study, we identified the expression of SPP1 by Oncomine, GEPIA and TIMER databases, and assessed SPP1 immumohistochemical staining analysis by The HPA database. We evaluated the clinical outcomes between SPP1 expression and hepatocellular carcinoma patients via Kaplan-Meier Plotter. We also tested the relationship between SPP1 and critical oncogenes by TIMER and GEPIA databases. Then we explored immune infiltration analyses using TIMER and TISIDB datasets. In addition, we performed functional enrichment analyses with Metascape and GeneMANIA databases. Results: We found that SPP1 overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and high SPP1 expression was correlated with shorter OS and PFS survivals in hepatocellular carcinoma patients. SPP1 expression is positive correlation with critical oncogenes related stemness associated genes, cell cycle and proliferation, therapeutic resistance, metastasis, and tumor angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Importantly, SPP1 expression was positively correlated with infiltrating levels of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells. Furthermore, SPP1 expression showed strong correlations with diverse immune hallmark sets in hepatocellular carcinoma. Notably, functional enrichment analysis suggested that SPP1 strong related with immune response. Conclusions: These findings imply that SPP1 is correlated with prognosis and immune cell infiltrating, offering a new potential immunotherapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma.

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Prognostic value of SEC61G in lung adenocarcinoma: a comprehensive study based on bioinformatics and in vitro validation

BMC Cancer ◽

10.1186/s12885-021-08957-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Qunhao Zheng ◽

Zhiping Wang ◽

Mengyan Zhang ◽

Yilin Yu ◽

Rui Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cell ◽

Lung Adenocarcinoma ◽

Methylation Level ◽

Prognostic Value ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Biological Behavior

Abstract Background Studies have shown that the Sec61 gamma subunit (SEC61G) is overexpressed in several tumors and could serve as a potential prognostic marker. However, the correlation between SEC61G and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains unclear. In the current study, we aimed to demonstrate the prognostic value and potential biological function of the SEC61G gene in LUAD. Methods Public datasets were used for SEC61G expression analyses. The prognostic value of SEC61G in LUAD was investigated using the Kaplan–Meier survival and Cox analyses. The correlation between the methylation level of SEC61G and its mRNA expression was evaluated via cBioPortal. Additionally, MethSurv was used to determine the prognostic value of the SEC61G methylation levels in LUAD. Functional enrichment analysis was conducted to explore the potential mechanism of SEC61G. Also, single sample GSEA (ssGSEA) and TIMER online tool were applied to identify the correlation between SEC61G and immune filtration. Furthermore, cell functional experiments were conducted to verify the biological behavior of SEC61G in lung adenocarcinoma cells (LAC). Results SEC61G was upregulated in pan-cancers, including LUAD. High SEC61G expression was significantly correlated with worse prognosis in LUAD patients. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that high SEC61G expression was an independent prognostic factor in the TCGA cohort. (HR = 1.760 95% CI: 1.297–2.388, p < 0.001). The methylation level of SEC61G negatively correlated with the SEC61G expression (R = − 0.290, p < 0.001), and patients with low SEC61G methylation had worse overall survival. (p = 0.0014). Proliferation-associated terms such as cell cycle and cell division were significantly enriched in GO and KEGG analysis. Vitro experiments demonstrated that knockdown of SEC61G resulted in decreased cell proliferation, invasion and facilitated apoptosis in LAC. GSEA analysis found that SEC61G expression was associated with the E2F targets. Moreover, SEC61G expression was negatively correlated with the immune cell infiltration including CD4+ T cell, CD8+ T cell, B cell, macrophage, neutrophil, and dendritic cell. Conclusion Our study indicated that overexpression of SEC61G was significantly associated with poor prognosis of LUAD patients and the malignant phenotypes of LUAD cells, suggesting that it could be a novel prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target of LUAD.

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Identification of a novel cancer stemness-associated ceRNA axis in lung adenocarcinoma via stemness indices analysis

Oncology Research Featuring Preclinical and Clinical Cancer Therapeutics ◽

10.3727/096504020x16037124605559 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Pihua Han ◽

Haiming Yang ◽

Xiang Li ◽

Jie Wu ◽

Peili Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lung Adenocarcinoma ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Cancer Stemness ◽

Bioinformatics Analyses ◽

Cerna Network ◽

Gene Coexpression ◽

Kaplan Meier

To identify a novel cancer stemness-related ceRNA regulatory axis in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) via weighted gene coexpression network analysis of a stemness index. The RNA sequencing expression profiles of 513 cancer samples and 60 normal samples were obtained from the TCGA database. Differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs), lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) and miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) were identified with R software. Functional enrichment analysis was conducted using DAVID 6.8. The ceRNA network was constructed via multiple bioinformatics analyses, and the correlations between possible ceRNAs and prognosis were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier plots. Then, WGCNA was applied to distinguish key genes related to the mRNA expression-based stemness index (mRNAsi) in LUAD. After combining the weighted gene coexpression and ceRNA networks, a novel ceRNA regulatory axis was identified, and its biological functions were explored in vitro and vivo. In total, 1,825 DElncRNAs, 291 DEmiRNAs, and 3,742 DEmRNAs were identified. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the DEmRNAs might be associated with LUAD onset and progression. The ceRNA network was constructed with 14 lncRNAs, 10 miRNAs and 52 mRNAs. Kaplan-Meier analysis identified 2 DEmiRNAs, 5 DElncRNAs and 41 DEmRNAs with remarkable prognostic power. One gene (MFAP4) in the ceRNA network was found to be closely related to mRNAsi by using WGCNA. Functional investigation further confirmed that the C8orf34-as1/miR-671-5p/MFAP4 regulatory axis has important functions in LUAD cell migration and stemness. This study provides a deeper understanding of the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network and, more importantly, reveals a novel ceRNA regulatory axis, which may provide new insights into novel molecular therapeutic targets for inhibiting LUAD stem characteristics.

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Investigation and Functional Enrichment Analysis of the Human Host Interaction Network with Common Gram-Negative Respiratory Pathogens Predicts Possible Association with Lung Adenocarcinoma

Pathophysiology ◽

10.3390/pathophysiology28010003 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 20-33

Author(s):

Lydia-Eirini Giannakou ◽

Athanasios-Stefanos Giannopoulos ◽

Chrissi Hatzoglou ◽

Konstantinos I. Gourgoulianis ◽

Erasmia Rouka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lung Adenocarcinoma ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Cell Junctions ◽

Respiratory Pathogens ◽

Gram Negative ◽

Human Proteins ◽

Apoptotic Pathways

Haemophilus influenzae (Hi), Moraxella catarrhalis (MorCa) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Psa) are three of the most common gram-negative bacteria responsible for human respiratory diseases. In this study, we aimed to identify, using the functional enrichment analysis (FEA), the human gene interaction network with the aforementioned bacteria in order to elucidate the full spectrum of induced pathogenicity. The Human Pathogen Interaction Database (HPIDB 3.0) was used to identify the human proteins that interact with the three pathogens. FEA was performed via the ToppFun tool of the ToppGene Suite and the GeneCodis database so as to identify enriched gene ontologies (GO) of biological processes (BP), cellular components (CC) and diseases. In total, 11 human proteins were found to interact with the bacterial pathogens. FEA of BP GOs revealed associations with mitochondrial membrane permeability relative to apoptotic pathways. FEA of CC GOs revealed associations with focal adhesion, cell junctions and exosomes. The most significantly enriched annotations in diseases and pathways were lung adenocarcinoma and cell cycle, respectively. Our results suggest that the Hi, MorCa and Psa pathogens could be related to the pathogenesis and/or progression of lung adenocarcinoma via the targeting of the epithelial cellular junctions and the subsequent deregulation of the cell adhesion and apoptotic pathways. These hypotheses should be experimentally validated.

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Integrated Analyses Identify Immune-Related Signature Associated with Qingyihuaji Formula for Treatment of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Using Network Pharmacology and Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network

Journal of Immunology Research ◽

10.1155/2020/7503605 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Xiang Qian ◽

Zhuo Chen ◽

Sha Sha Chen ◽

Lu Ming Liu ◽

Ai Qin Zhang

Keyword(s):

Expression Profiles ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽

Network Pharmacology ◽

Active Ingredients ◽

Kaplan Meier ◽

Human Protein Atlas

The study aimed to clarify the potential immune-related targets and mechanisms of Qingyihuaji Formula (QYHJ) against pancreatic cancer (PC) through network pharmacology and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Active ingredients of herbs in QYHJ were identified by the TCMSP database. Then, the putative targets of active ingredients were predicted with SwissTargetPrediction and the STITCH databases. The expression profiles of GSE32676 were downloaded from the GEO database. WGCNA was used to identify the co-expression modules. Besides, the putative targets, immune-related targets, and the critical module genes were mapped with the specific disease to select the overlapped genes (OGEs). Functional enrichment analysis of putative targets and OGEs was conducted. The overall survival (OS) analysis of OGEs was investigated using the Kaplan-Meier plotter. The relative expression and methylation levels of OGEs were detected in UALCAN, human protein atlas (HPA), Oncomine, DiseaseMeth version 2.0 and, MEXPRESS database, respectively. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was conducted to elucidate the key pathways of highly-expressed OGEs further. OS analyses found that 12 up-regulated OGEs, including CDK1, PLD1, MET, F2RL1, XDH, NEK2, TOP2A, NQO1, CCND1, PTK6, CTSE, and ERBB2 that could be utilized as potential diagnostic indicators for PC. Further, methylation analyses suggested that the abnormal up-regulation of these OGEs probably resulted from hypomethylation, and GSEA revealed the genes markedly related to cell cycle and proliferation of PC. This study identified CDK1, PLD1, MET, F2RL1, XDH, NEK2, TOP2A, NQO1, CCND1, PTK6, CTSE, and ERBB2 might be used as reliable immune-related biomarkers for prognosis of PC, which may be essential immunotherapies targets of QYHJ.

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Investigation of Candidate Genes and Mechanism Associated with Immune Cell during the Progression of Glioblastoma based on Bioinformatics

10.21203/rs.3.rs-117485/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hui Xie ◽

Xiao-hui Ding ◽

Ce Yuan ◽

Jin-jiang Li ◽

Zhao-yang Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Cell ◽

Risk Model ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Normal Group ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

M2 Macrophage ◽

Survival Prognosis ◽

Cerna Network ◽

Tumor Group

Abstract Background: This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of immune cell infiltration during the development of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), and explore the potential immune cell associated prognostic genes for GBM. Methods: Gene expression data and corresponding clinical data of GBM samples (tumor group) and normal samples (normal group) in TCGA-GBM and GTEx dataset were downloaded. The differentially expression analysis was performed on samples between two groups. Based on tumor immune microenvironment analysis, the immune-related RNAs (lncRNAs and mRNAs) were further explored. Then, functional enrichment analysis, ceRNA network, risk prediction model and prognosis investigation were performed. Finally, the results of survival prognosis of key genes were tested by additional datasets. Results: A total of 4989 up-regulated genes and 2349 down-regulated genes were revealed between tumor group and normal group. M2 macrophages accounted for the largest proportion of tumor infiltrates immune cells in GBM, and was related to the prognosis of GBM patients. Totally 168 mRNAs (KIF18B) and 5 lncRNAs were related to infiltration of M2 Macrophage, of which 25 mRNAs and 5 lncRNAs forms a ceRNA network through 37 miRNAs (eg., miR-6849-3p). These genes were mainly assembled in functions like signal release. A risk model based on 5 mRNAs (such as FOX4 and ELFN2) and lncRNA PR11-161H23.5 was constructed. Verification test showed that all 5 mRNAs were significantly associated with OS prognosis.Conclusions: M2 Macrophage infiltration might participate in tumorigenesis of GBM via RP11-161H23.5-miR6849-3p-KIF18B ceRNA interaction. Furthermore, mRNAs such as FOX4 and ELFN2 might be potential prognostic markers for GBM patients.

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Comprehensive Analysis of the Prognostic Value and Immune Infiltration of Calpains in Pancreatic Cancer

10.21203/rs.3.rs-716693/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lan Chuan ◽

Haoyou Tang ◽

Sheng Liu ◽

Lin Ma ◽

Yifu Hou

Keyword(s):

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Treatment Strategies ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Cell Surface Receptor ◽

Cell Junction ◽

Expression Levels ◽

Surface Receptor

Abstract Background: Calpains (CAPNs) are intracellular calcium-activated neutral cysteine proteinases that are involved in cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis; however, their role in pancreatic cancer (PC) remains unclear. Methods: We combined data from various mainstream databases (i.e., Oncomine, GEPIA, Kaplan-Meier plotter, cBioPortal, STRING, GeneMANIA, and ssGSEA) and investigated the role of CAPNs in the prognosis of PC and immune cell infiltration.Results: Our results showed that CAPN1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 12 were highly expressed in PC. The expression levels of CAPN1, 5, 8, and 12 were positively correlated with the individual cancer stages. Moreover, the expression levels of CAPN1, 2, 5, and 8 were negatively correlated with the overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS); whereas that of CAPN10 was positively correlated with OS and RFS. We found that CAPN1, 2, 5, and 8 were correlated with tumour-infiltrating T follicular helper cells and CAPN10 with tumour-infiltrating T helper 2 cells. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the differentially expressed CAPNs (CAPN1, 2, 5, 8, and 10) are involved in axonogenesis, cell-substrate adhesion, immune response-activating cell surface receptor signalling pathway, and cell junction organisation in PC.Conclusions: These results suggested that CAPN1, 2, 5, 8, and 10 could be used as prognostic biomarkers in PC and can assist in improving individualised treatment strategies.

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Identification of SHMT2 as a Potential Prognostic Biomarker and Correlating With Immune Infiltrates in Lung Adenocarcinoma

10.21203/rs.3.rs-105348/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lianxiang Luo ◽

Yushi Zheng ◽

Zhiping Lin ◽

Xiaodi Li ◽

Xiaoling Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lung Adenocarcinoma ◽

Immune Cell ◽

Prognostic Biomarker ◽

Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽

Cell Infiltration ◽

Immune Cell Infiltration ◽

Kaplan Meier ◽

Online Databases ◽

Cox Proportional Hazard Regression

Abstract Background: The role of Serine hydroxymethyltransferase2 (SHMT2) in diverse cancers has attracted increasing attention. However, the prognostic role of SHMT2 in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and its relationship with immune cell infiltration is yet to be studied.Methods: The data of mRNA and clinic in LUAD were respectively downloaded from the GEO and TCGA database. We conducted a biological analysis to select the signature gene SHMT2. Online databases including Oncomine, GEPIA, TISIDB, TIMER, and HPA were applied to analyze the characterization of SHMT2 expression, prognosis and the correlation with immune infiltrates in LUAD.Results: The mRNA expression and protein expression of SHMT2 in LUAD were higher than normal tissue. A Kaplan-Meier analysis showed the lower expression level of SHMT2 had a better overall survival rate. Multivariate analysis and the Cox proportional hazard regression model revealed that SHMT2 expression was an independent prognostic factor for patients with LUAD. Meanwhile, the gene SHMT2 was highly associated with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in LUAD.Conclusions: These results suggest that the SHMT2 gene is a promising candidate as a potential prognostic biomarker and highly associated with different types of phenotypes of immune cell infiltration in LUAD.

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