Cancer related-genes enriched in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of COVID-19 patients. a bioinformatics study

Background: Since COVID-19 has become one of the biggest challenges for health care systems in the past decade. The SARS-CoV-2 primarily affects the lungs, but many studies implied that other health complications such as brain damage, heart failure, and kidneys dysfunction also are associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Many scientific efforts have revealed the clinical and molecular details of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. However, comprehension of COVID-19 complications demands more investigations. In this context, the relation between SARS-CoV-2 infection and cancer has been less addressed. In this regard, we aimed to discover any possible links between SARS-CoV-2 infection and cancer development in a bioinformatics study. Methods: The pertinent datasets were chosen from the GEO database. COVID-19 was searched for differentially expressed genes where |Log2 FC| > 1 and P < 0.05 were deemed statistically significant. The ClusterProfiler package employed gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis for common genes. Functional interaction of proteins was predicted using STRING online then Cytoscape analysis was carried out to determine the target genes. Finally, gene set enrichment analysis was performed to find any correlation between candidate genes and different types of cancer. Results: The analysis showed that numerous cancer-related genes up-regulated in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, particularly those genes participating in the cell cycle regulation or engaged in cellular senescence processes. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can be considered a potential risk factor for increasing the probability of developing cancer.