Identification of potential key genes in gastric cancer using bioinformatics analysis

Abstract

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. Patients must be identified at an early stage of tumor progression for treatment to be effective. The aim of the present study was to identify potential biomarkers with diagnostic value in patients with GC. To examine potential therapeutic targets for GC, four Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets were downloaded and screened for differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were subsequently performed to study the function and pathway enrichment of the identified DEGs. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. The CytoHubba plugin of Cytoscape was used to calculate the degree of connectivity of proteins in the PPI network, and the two genes with the highest degree of connectivity were selected for further analysis. Additionally, the two DEGs with the largest and smallest log Fold Change values were selected. These six key genes were further examined using Oncomine and the Kaplan-Meier plotter platform. A total of 99 upregulated and 172 downregulated genes common to all four GEO datasets were screened. The DEGs were primarily enriched in the Biological Process terms: 'extracellular matrix organization', 'collagen catabolic process' and 'cell adhesion'. These three KEGG pathways were significantly enriched in the categories: 'ECM-receptor interaction', 'protein digestion and absorption', and 'focal adhesion'. Based on Oncomine, expression of ATP4A and ATP4B were downregulated in GC, whereas expression of the other genes were all upregulated. The Kaplan-Meier plotter platform confirmed that upregulated expression of the identified key genes was significantly associated with worse overall survival of patients with GC. The results of the present study suggest that FN1, COL1A1, INHBA and CST1 may be potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for GC. Additional studies are required to explore the potential value of ATP4A and ATP4B in the treatment of GC.

α-Enolase Lies Downstream of mTOR/HIF1α and Promotes Thyroid Carcinoma Progression by Regulating CST1

“…CST1 and CST4 were previously reported to be oncogenes (Jiang et al, 2018;Cui et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2020). Next, we studied the role of CST1 and CST4 in thyroid carcinoma.…”

“…CST1 (cystatin 1), a type 2 cystatin superfamily member, is a specific inhibitor of cysteine proteases (Dai et al, 2017;Oh et al, 2017;Jiang et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2019). Several studies demonstrated that CST1 was closely associated with cell proliferation and metastasis in various cancers, including cancer of the stomach, breast, colorectum, pancreas, and bile duct (Jiang et al, 2018;Cui et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2020). Wang et al (2020) predicted that CST1 was a biomarker and therapeutic target for gastric cancer.…”

“…Several studies demonstrated that CST1 was closely associated with cell proliferation and metastasis in various cancers, including cancer of the stomach, breast, colorectum, pancreas, and bile duct (Jiang et al, 2018;Cui et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2020). Wang et al (2020) predicted that CST1 was a biomarker and therapeutic target for gastric cancer. Nevertheless, the role of CST1 in thyroid carcinoma has not yet been investigated.…”

Identification of Key Methylation Differentially Expressed Genes in Posterior Fossa Ependymoma Based on Epigenomic and Transcriptome Analysis

“…The β subunits were coded using ATP4B genes [24] . Many studies have revealed that ATP4B expression is decreased in human gastric cancer(GC) [25][26][27][28] , and some studies have reported abnormal expression of ATP4B in other diseases such as human hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) [29] , laryngopharyngeal re ux, and laryngeal cancer [30] . However, to date, there are no studies about the relationship between this gene and EPN-PF.…”

The Reprimo-Like Gene Is an Epigenetic-Mediated Tumor Suppressor and a Candidate Biomarker for the Non-Invasive Detection of Gastric Cancer

“…Unfortunately, the standard diagnostic method, esophagogastroduodenoscopy, is an invasive and expensive procedure which has resulted in late diagnosis and an average 5-year survival of ~30%. Therefore, elucidating the molecular basis of GC has become crucial to developing timely diagnostic and therapeutic strategies [ 2 , 3 ].…”