Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis of Key Genes Controlling Cancer Stem Cell Characteristics by Mrnasi in Colon Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Background: Cancer stem cells are hidden tumor cells with the potential for self-renewal and multi-differentiation, which are the principal cause of tumor heterogeneity, metastasis and drug resistance. However, the key genes that maintain cell stemness of colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) are still unknown. Our study was designed to identify key genes associated with the stemness of COAD cell. Methods: RNA sequencing data and clinical information were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to recognize key genes based on mRNAsi. Next, the gene expression data downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Oncomine, and Gene Expression Profiling Integrative Analysis (GEPIA) were used to demonstrate the expression of key genes.Results: The mRNAsi score of COAD tissue was obviously superior than that of normal tissue. N stages, M stages and overall survival were highly related to mRNAsi. WGCNA showed that the green module was positively related to mRNAsi. We obtained 27 genes closely related to each other at the transcriptional and protein levels. The main biological functions of key genes were organelle fission, chromosomal region, and protein serine/threonine kinase activity. The enriched signaling pathway were cell cycle, progesterone−mediated oocyte maturation, human T−cell leukemia virus 1 infection, oocyte meiosis, DNA replication, cellular senescence, viral carcinogenesis, and p53 signaling pathway. The key genes were highly expressed in COAD and various cancers, which was validated multiple databases. Conclusions: 27 key genes were well correlated with maintaining stemness of COAD, which were significantly related to cell cycle events. The key genes may be therapeutic targets for inhibiting the properties of COAD stem cells.