Novel biomarkers involved in neuroblastoma revealed by integrative analysis of GEO data

AbstractIn this study, comprehensive bioinformatics analysis was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between neuroblastoma cancer tissues and normal tissues, and to screen the hub genes related to neuroblastoma. GSE54720 and GSE78061 datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to screen DEGs. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis were performed on common DEGs. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using STRING database and Cytoscape software, and the top15 hub genes were screened out. Finally, KIF5C, TAGLN3, and SNAP91 were identified by alignment in OMIM, DisGeNET, GeneCards databases, and PubMed. These three genes are neuroblastoma related genes that have never been reported in the literature and experimentally validated. We identified a total of 37 common DEGs from the two microarray databases. KEGG pathway analysis showed that these DEGs were mainly involved in dopaminergic synapses, motor proteins and phenylalanine metabolism related pathways. GO enrichment analysis showed that KIF5C, TAGLN3 and SNAP91 were mainly concentrated in axon guidance, axon genesis, axon development, distal axon, neuronal cell body, and synaptic vesicle transport, suggesting that they may be involved in biological functions such as protein binding, plasma membrane, membrane composition and nucleus. Through OMIM, DisGeNET, GeneCards databases, and PubMed, we found that neuroblastoma related genes KIF5C, TAGLN3, and SNAP91 are associated with the proliferation and migration of other tumors. The identification of hub genes and molecules by bioinformatics methods in this study helps to reveal the potential pathogenic mechanism of neuroblastoma. These genes may be used as diagnostic indicators and therapeutic biomarkers for neuroblastoma, thereby improving the understanding of the molecular mechanism of neuroblastoma.