“…Differential expression analysis showed 12 downregulated genes (mostly associated with the negative regulation of transcription: NFKBIB , BTRC , CREBBP , HDAC1 , NCOR2 , and FBXW11 ) and 19 upregulated genes [mostly associated with protein ubiquitination ( SOCS1 , RBX1 , RPS27A , UBB , UBA52 , and UBE2N ), positive regulation of cell proliferation ( CTNNB1 , NRAS , HRAS , CDKN1A , and STAT3 ), and cell surface receptor signaling pathways ( IL6 , IFNA5 , IFNA7 , IFNA16 , and NGF ) in OS samples compared to controls. Several of these genes have already been associated with OS pathophysiology [ 149 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 , 170 , 171 , 172 , 173 , 174 , 175 , 176 , 177 ]. Moreover, KEGG functional enrichment was assessed through STRING v12 (available at accessed on 17 April 2024) and showed that under-expressed genes belonged mainly to MAPK and WNT signaling pathways, while upregulated genes belonged to the PI3K/AKT and JAK/STAT cascades ( Figure 6 C), reinforcing the concept of NF-κB as a common player underneath OS establishment and progression.…”