Screening of the Key Genes for the Progression of Liver Cirrhosis to Hepatocellular Carcinoma Based on Bioinformatics

Yuanbin Chen; Hongyan Qian; Xiao He; Jing Zhang; Song Xue; Yumeng Wu; Jian Chen; Xuming Wu; Suqing Zhang

doi:10.1155/2022/2515513

Screening of the Key Genes for the Progression of Liver Cirrhosis to Hepatocellular Carcinoma Based on Bioinformatics

J Oncol. 2022 Sep 26:2022:2515513. doi: 10.1155/2022/2515513. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yuanbin Chen¹, Hongyan Qian², Xiao He¹, Jing Zhang¹, Song Xue¹, Yumeng Wu², Jian Chen³, Xuming Wu⁴, Suqing Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Medical School of Nantong University, Jiangsu, Nantong 226000, China.
² Key Laboratory of Cancer Research Center Nantong, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Nantong University, Jiangsu, Nantong 226361, China.
³ The Immunology Laboratory, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Nantong University, Jiangsu, Nantong 226361, China.
⁴ Nantong Fourth People's Hospital, Jiangsu Nantong 226001, China.
⁵ Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Nantong University, Jiangsu, Nantong 226361, China.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is among the most globally prevalent cancers, is strongly associated with liver cirrhosis. Using a bioinformatics approach, we have identified and investigated the hub genes responsible for the progression of cirrhosis into HCC. We analyzed the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) microarray datasets, GSE25097 and GSE17549, to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in these two conditions and also performed protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. STRING database and Cytoscape software were used to analyze the modules and locate hub genes following which the connections between hub genes and the transition from cirrhosis to HCC, progression of HCC, and prognosis of HCC were investigated. We used the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis to detect the molecular mechanisms underlying the action of the primary hub genes. In all, 239 DEGs were obtained, with 94 of them showing evidence of upregulation and 145 showing evidence of downregulation in HCC tissues as compared to cirrhotic liver tissues. We identified six hub genes, namely, BUB1B, NUSAP1, TTK, HMMR, CCNA2, and KIF2C, which were upregulated and had a high diagnostic value for HCC. Besides, these six hub genes were positively related to immune cell infiltration. Since these genes may play a direct role in the progression of cirrhosis to HCC, they can be considered as potential novel molecular indicators for the onset and development of HCC.