Genomics & Informatics

Korea Genome Organization (한국유전체학회)
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Pathogenesis and prognosis of primary oral squamous cell carcinoma based on microRNAs target genes: a systems biology approach

  • Taherkhani, Amir (Research Center for Molecular Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences) ;
  • Dehto, Shahab Shahmoradi (Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences) ;
  • Jamshidi, Shokoofeh (Dental Research Center, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, School of Dentistry, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences) ;
  • Shojaei, Setareh (Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences)
  • Received : 2022.06.17
  • Accepted : 2022.08.30
  • Published : 2022.09.30
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Abstract

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most prevalent head and neck malignancy, with frequent cervical lymph-node metastasis, leading to a poor prognosis in OSCC patients. The present study aimed to identify potential markers, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and genes, significantly involved in the etiology of early-stage OSCC. Additionally, the main OSCC's dysregulated Gene Ontology annotations and significant signaling pathways were identified. The dataset GSE45238 underwent multivariate statistical analysis in order to distinguish primary OSCC tissues from healthy oral epithelium. Differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) with the criteria of p-value < 0.001 and |Log2 fold change| > 1.585 were identified in the two groups, and subsequently, validated targets of DEMs were identified. A protein interaction map was constructed, hub genes were identified, significant modules within the network were illustrated, and significant pathways and biological processes associated with the clusters were demonstrated. Using the GEPI2 database, the hub genes' predictive function was assessed. Compared to the healthy controls, main OSCC had a total of 23 DEMs. In patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), upregulation of CALM1, CYCS, THBS1, MYC, GATA6, and SPRED3 was strongly associated with a poor prognosis. In HNSCC patients, overexpression of PIK3R3, GIGYF1, and BCL2L11 was substantially correlated with a good prognosis. Besides, "proteoglycans in cancer" was the most significant pathway enriched in the primary OSCC. The present study results revealed more possible mechanisms mediating primary OSCC and may be useful in the prognosis of the patients with early-stage OSCC.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to appreciate the Dental Research Center, Deputy of Research and Technology, and Research Center for Molecular Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan - Iran for their supports. This paper was extracted from the thesis of Shahab Shahmoradi Dehto.

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