Network Analysis of Differential Expression of ANLN and Its Interacting Proteins in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Anillin (ANLN) is an actin binding protein, which was originally extracted from Drosophila melanogaster embryos. As a key regulatory factor in cytokinesis, ANLN is highly expressed in various tumors, leading to abnormal cell division and promoting the proliferation, migration, and invasion of cancer cells. At present, the role and regulatory mechanism of ANLN in human Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) are not fully understood. The purpose of this study is to construct a Protein-Protein Interaction Network (PPIN) to reveal the characteristics of ANLN and its interacting proteins, by the integration of their expression in ESCC. The differentially expressed ANLN and its interacting proteins in ESCC were identified from our previous RNA-seq data. By constructing a specific PPI network, it was found that many differentially expressed genes/proteins may interact with ANLN. Multiple enrichment pathways of ANLN and its differentially expressed genes were explained by functional enrichment analysis, Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and KEGG pathway analysis. In addition, it is revealed that ANLN, ECT2, ACADM and PPP1R9A play an important role in the occurrence and development of ESCC, and they are proposed as new prognostic factors for ESCC. These bioinformatics analyses provide a comprehensive perspective for the role of ANLN in ESCC.