In-silico Identification of Potential Therapeutic Targets against Virus Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma

In-silico Identification of Potential Therapeutic Targets against Virus Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article In-silico Identification of Potential Therapeutic Targets against Virus Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Sakshi Bhatt, Anuj Kumar This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8468854/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Chemo resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma is a challenge that leads to a high mortality rate. The discovery of novel drugs and drug targets is crucial to develop combination therapy. The study reports drug targets based on an ‘omics’-based approach and studied in silico binding of bufalin compound to potential drug target. Method Gene expression data sets from tumours of HCC patients were compared with that of health control. Differentially expressed genes in tumour tissues were analysed for gene ontology and metabolic pathways. Hub genes were identified using a network biology approach and studied as potential drug targets. Result A total of 104 common genes were identified from 3 datasets, from which 54 genes were upregulated and 50 genes were downregulated. Ten Hub genes were identified, which were all over-expressed in the tumour tissues and correlated with poor survival rates. Molecular docking result suggests Hub protein thymidylate synthase binding to anticancer agent bufalin. Conclusion A total of 10 potential anti-cancer therapeutic targets were identified using ‘omics’ and network biology approach. Among that thymidylate synthase was binding with a potential anti-cancer drug bufalin. Bioinformatics hepatocellular carcinoma gene ontology drug discovery network biology bufalin Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files ANNEXURE1.docx Annexure1 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8468854","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":566572180,"identity":"9f7d6f5b-60dd-4e36-abd2-547b628fd3a5","order_by":0,"name":"Sakshi Bhatt","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"1.\tVellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sakshi","middleName":"","lastName":"Bhatt","suffix":""},{"id":566572181,"identity":"a9136dc2-0911-41ad-b891-0df2c4999974","order_by":1,"name":"Anuj Kumar","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJACAwaGAwwM7A0gpgUpWngOgJgSRFsEVC6RAGIQoYV/do9BAUPNHXnzmc+vbvhRIMHA396dgFeLxJ0zBgYMx54ZzrmdU3azB+gwiTNnN+C35kYOUAvbYcYZ0jlpN3iAWgwkcvFrkQdr+XfYfobkmbSbf4jRYgDSwth2OHGGBPux20TZYngjrcAgse9w8gyeHLbbMgYSPAT9IncjeZvBh2+HbWewH392880fGzn+9l4C3mdgYDNIANM8BmCSkHIQYH4AodkfEKN6FIyCUTAKRiAAAKM8SEvpxErcAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8814-3625","institution":"2.\tICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR-NICPR), NOIDA, India, 301201","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Anuj","middleName":"","lastName":"Kumar","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-12-29 03:47:39","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8468854/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8468854/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":99603165,"identity":"f4fe0c9b-61dd-49fe-a8f0-64203d5fd050","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":2572367,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"titlesakshi.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/86e8f7a5cf28df276a188d49.docx"},{"id":99794095,"identity":"42c50546-d7c6-49e3-8f74-e5433ce75190","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:33:58","extension":"json","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":342,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"rs8468854.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/bb63879fe79272a3aca58df6.json"},{"id":99792849,"identity":"8d9c3aa7-e5e0-4e95-8885-05d84fe53e05","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:26:54","extension":"xml","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":136608,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"rs84688540enriched.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/9759194c8ff3d4a3ab194a56.xml"},{"id":99793284,"identity":"678b3c80-3fc7-4c83-a81a-fe926f8876e9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:31:19","extension":"jpeg","order_by":3,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":177490,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/cdc1b2eeae19b86ca35fa4dd.jpeg"},{"id":99792327,"identity":"b0260acb-55d5-4e11-9112-877703d7b4fb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:17:58","extension":"jpeg","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":404686,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage10.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/3330018a1f0aa61e2bfa875a.jpeg"},{"id":99603155,"identity":"5bae9f5a-d30f-4a95-8144-0c35775d893d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":182532,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage11.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/ae1af05b47273a65aee64470.png"},{"id":99794067,"identity":"76edf4d1-e47a-4437-8a4c-0c41e4e94c9d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:33:54","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":4889,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage12.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/eac5d990799aa075ca81cf02.png"},{"id":99794349,"identity":"93875412-fd52-4fae-9e56-4dbb83548a83","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:34:38","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":3448,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage13.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/fbbbdc85a30c28ad9abe973e.png"},{"id":99793743,"identity":"d745d9c3-6c41-4103-a431-092d51e60f7b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:32:18","extension":"png","order_by":8,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":3445,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage14.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/b32b9c7afece07ebf97ed122.png"},{"id":99603157,"identity":"e0cb9afe-e799-4d8f-aebb-52caadd04619","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":9,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":3005,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage15.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/135c693ba1f8d12731ec939a.png"},{"id":99603179,"identity":"85dba186-7888-406b-a177-1e13bbe559ad","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":10,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":4132,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage16.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/be0a850bd869525107aa1a0f.png"},{"id":99603152,"identity":"6bb6f4db-96c7-4155-aafa-e8bee92536e1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":11,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":4632,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage17.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/f09569ca7068ae895748811b.png"},{"id":99603159,"identity":"f51f5732-77a0-46ff-8638-da2733d63e9e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":12,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":96085,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/fbde5906e459cd1fee9b5bd0.png"},{"id":99792786,"identity":"bc3a0570-a6e9-43fa-b607-598810940595","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:26:01","extension":"png","order_by":13,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":17392,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/fc2df298b9e2da22578719bb.png"},{"id":99603178,"identity":"da00628f-2976-4739-a2d4-9019f396491c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"jpeg","order_by":14,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":238607,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/9aaff4352fafa46cb03ff548.jpeg"},{"id":99792930,"identity":"0978461e-19df-46e0-96cb-d6ccc0ee73bf","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:28:45","extension":"png","order_by":15,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":17261,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/dd262c3c5c6b53a14319e555.png"},{"id":99603174,"identity":"b95fa007-01c3-41fc-bfcc-861c9d29233c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":16,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":258037,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/920cf10c50decc85caab47df.png"},{"id":99794391,"identity":"3b170d80-9e58-4c15-a0da-dcd41292797c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:34:50","extension":"png","order_by":17,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":124558,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/be854c8e7850f1d30f163324.png"},{"id":99794128,"identity":"12974bce-8068-421a-913a-1d84d28251c7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:34:02","extension":"jpeg","order_by":18,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":739978,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage8.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/b0ecd8402ba7db46aa8f151b.jpeg"},{"id":99793151,"identity":"3051d0df-8856-4dcb-a74f-ee08e7cc4a4e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:31:06","extension":"jpeg","order_by":19,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":760702,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage9.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/467b44a05d69db4213f8ee4e.jpeg"},{"id":99603175,"identity":"f5cd02ff-bbaa-411b-924f-16fb5fb2dcc4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":20,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":48776,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/545261a55a3f883ac02522ad.png"},{"id":99793293,"identity":"e0d8ce3a-8ab5-48fa-ad4f-378df16ce8d1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:31:21","extension":"png","order_by":21,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":94471,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage10.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/da60768b9975960bffb22cf1.png"},{"id":99603164,"identity":"fc9b96ba-2511-44eb-b4df-0777ef1a9a50","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":22,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":40506,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage11.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/896bd5b4d7b8b5f81c73c243.png"},{"id":99793135,"identity":"4545d9d9-7418-480e-a1f8-1234db1cfaf7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:31:03","extension":"png","order_by":23,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":4048,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage12.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/f5b6980eacc86e8ca627d2ce.png"},{"id":99603169,"identity":"d1014aa3-0a39-49fa-8b27-a99c29873de2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":24,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":2774,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage13.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/8df03274cdde34b0becdae84.png"},{"id":99792723,"identity":"c367a8bc-274d-4a2f-be40-d5ec2b775140","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:25:20","extension":"png","order_by":25,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":2738,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage14.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/63dbfa8734eabf69ebb75601.png"},{"id":99603177,"identity":"30330aa9-72be-463b-8bc4-1be66183de02","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":26,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":2485,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage15.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/fb9201567862a5922be89071.png"},{"id":99603167,"identity":"364479d5-b12c-4097-a78a-fcfe75d794fa","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":27,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":3324,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage16.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/985af49cc0625685c6b58db9.png"},{"id":99603171,"identity":"51ec45b8-e1a1-4ce5-8226-34c415a96efd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":28,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":3790,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage17.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/485c3e5351b3d43113e00e0b.png"},{"id":99794025,"identity":"e9d97906-3f25-4d24-ba58-f3cb24b20fe4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:33:48","extension":"png","order_by":29,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":23352,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/ea36b8e94dcbb5e48fb4f092.png"},{"id":99792757,"identity":"03d63d38-68e6-4d4c-93a0-a52e635f7094","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:25:40","extension":"png","order_by":30,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":6257,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/0a4adcab92df386cf9444af2.png"},{"id":99603172,"identity":"0497199f-d4e5-488a-8dc0-55528f422f35","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":31,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":53693,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/e489a8532d5c48fecae96dd5.png"},{"id":99603184,"identity":"6ea940f1-f0b7-4de1-8556-264e51a5cf0c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"png","order_by":32,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":5993,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/5ce74b11f739c2ba7ccb9fbc.png"},{"id":99794126,"identity":"825bcabe-c18d-4065-a43f-bf24331cf70d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:34:02","extension":"png","order_by":33,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":64037,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/bf49d165ff2800b5b77741c8.png"},{"id":99793242,"identity":"2bafe480-f739-430c-82af-2547ddf4e1f1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:31:14","extension":"png","order_by":34,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":19730,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/c879b5a9637168d253595b4c.png"},{"id":99794047,"identity":"246848c6-8c70-49d5-a8dc-9caaacc25b60","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 13:33:52","extension":"png","order_by":35,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":176924,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage8.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/1d29ab439f1ab0be4b89d5e8.png"},{"id":99603186,"identity":"be9636ab-49eb-4a66-a196-a7a2ee4dcec0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:48","extension":"png","order_by":36,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":172776,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage9.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/feff2941bfbf190a73f60759.png"},{"id":99603180,"identity":"a0247e02-787b-4b92-a113-0dbca8c8d293","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"xml","order_by":37,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":133533,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"rs84688540structuring.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/f130be78dc26037dc47ce83a.xml"},{"id":99603189,"identity":"9e618ede-bed2-4b4e-8dbd-eeb5a4b01eb6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:48","extension":"html","order_by":38,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":147622,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/988a7f72ce59fdd733db8404.html"},{"id":99804200,"identity":"cb6c06f6-d906-4b79-ac8c-49b9f62f9c67","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-08 14:12:22","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1290392,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"titlesakshi.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1_covered_cf36a5da-bef9-40bb-a72c-ffbc0e8cb706.pdf"},{"id":99603149,"identity":"74ba9a16-b4b7-49f5-aba6-1309e817f11b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-06 10:55:47","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":38257,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eAnnexure1\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"ANNEXURE1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8468854/v1/4dc15f67ebe22ee5209f7466.docx"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eIn-silico Identification of Potential Therapeutic Targets against Virus Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[{"identity":"4422a3d1-17fd-4a4b-84aa-f9fea11bad6c","identifier":"10.13039/501100009104","name":"Department of Health Research, India","awardNumber":"2024 1086","order_by":0}],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"hepatocellular carcinoma, gene ontology, drug discovery, network biology, bufalin","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8468854/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8468854/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eChemo resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma is a challenge that leads to a high mortality rate. The discovery of novel drugs and drug targets is crucial to develop combination therapy. The study reports drug targets based on an \u0026lsquo;omics\u0026rsquo;-based approach and studied \u003cem\u003ein silico\u003c/em\u003e binding of bufalin compound to potential drug target.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethod\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eGene expression data sets from tumours of HCC patients were compared with that of health control. Differentially expressed genes in tumour tissues were analysed for gene ontology and metabolic pathways. Hub genes were identified using a network biology approach and studied as potential drug targets.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResult\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eA total\u003c/em\u003e of 104 common genes were identified from 3 datasets, from which 54 genes were upregulated and 50 genes were downregulated. Ten Hub genes were identified, which were all over-expressed in the tumour tissues and correlated with poor survival rates. Molecular docking result suggests Hub protein thymidylate synthase binding to anticancer agent bufalin.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA total of 10 potential anti-cancer therapeutic targets were identified using \u0026lsquo;omics\u0026rsquo; and network biology approach. Among that thymidylate synthase was binding with a potential anti-cancer drug bufalin.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"In-silico Identification of Potential Therapeutic Targets against Virus Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-06 10:55:42","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8468854/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"9ce6d623-531a-435c-bf8c-48089d884772","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 6th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":60303268,"name":"Bioinformatics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-06T10:55:42+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-06 10:55:42","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8468854","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8468854","identity":"rs-8468854","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}