Construction of CeRNA Regulatory Network based on WGCNA Reveals Diagnosis Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third primary cause of death among cancers in the world. Although improvements in various treatments have greatly improved the survival time of colorectal cancer patients, since colorectal cancer is often at an advanced stage when diagnosed, the prognosis of patients still very poor. Since the ceRNA regulatory network was proposed in 2011, it has greatly promoted the study of the molecular mechanism ofcolorectal cancer occurrence and development. Objective: Exploring the new molecular mechanism of the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer, and providing new targets for the diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer. Method: We analyzed the colorectal cancer RNA-seq data in TCGA, such as, difference analysis, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and construction of ceRNA regulatory network,et.al. Results: Eventually, 19 hub genes with significant prognostic significance were identified in the ceRNA regulatory network, including 8 lncRNAs, 2 mRNAs and 9 miRNAs.These hub genes constitute the lncRNA-miRNA, miRNA-mRNA and lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory axis.Some of these ceRNA regulatory axes have been confirmed to exist in colorectal cancer or other cancers. Conclusion: In this article, some new ceRNA regulatory axes have been discovered, which provides new molecular mechanisms for the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer, thereby providing new targets for clinical diagnosis and treatment.