Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 28, 2019; 25(48): 6890-6901
Published online Dec 28, 2019. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i48.6890
Comprehensive multi-omics analysis identified core molecular processes in esophageal cancer and revealed GNGT2 as a potential prognostic marker
Guo-Min Liu, Xuan Ji, Tian-Cheng Lu, Li-Wei Duan, Wen-Yuan Jia, Yun Liu, Mao-Lei Sun, Yun-Gang Luo
Guo-Min Liu, Xuan Ji, Wen-Yuan Jia, Yun Liu, Mao-Lei Sun, Yun-Gang Luo, Jilin Provincial Medicine Anti-Tumor Engineering Center, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130041, Jilin Province, China
Guo-Min Liu, Wen-Yuan Jia, Department of Orthopedics, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130041, Jilin Province, China
Xuan Ji, Yun Liu, Mao-Lei Sun, Yun-Gang Luo, Department of Stomatology, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130041, Jilin Province, China
Tian-Cheng Lu, Life Sciences College, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, Jilin Province, China
Li-Wei Duan, Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130041, Jilin Province, China
Author contributions: Liu GM and Ji X designed the research; Lu TC and Duan LW performed the research; Jia WY and Liu Y analyzed the data; Sun ML and Luo YG wrote the paper.
Supported by Construction of Engineering Laboratory of Jilin Development and Reform Commission (grant no. 3J115AK93429) and Jilin Provincial Science and Technology Department Medical Health Project (grant no. 3D5195001429).
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second Hospital of Jilin University.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yun-Gang Luo, MD, Attending Doctor, Department of Stomatology, Jilin Provincial Medicine Anti-Tumor Engineering Center, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No. 218, Ziqiang Street, Changchun 130041, Jilin Province, China. luoygjlu@sina.com
Received: September 29, 2019
Peer-review started: September 29, 2019
First decision: November 27, 2019
Revised: December 3, 2019
Accepted: December 14, 2019
Article in press: December 14, 2019
Published online: December 28, 2019
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Esophageal cancer is one of the most lethal malignant tumors in the world. In the past decades, although the treatment methods for esophageal cancer have improved, the overall efficacy is still poor.

Research motivation

In-depth analysis of molecular mechanisms related to esophageal cancer.

Research objectives

Exploring the molecular process of esophageal cancer comprehensively and deeply.

Research methods

This study used differential expression analysis, enrichment analysis, methylation analysis, survival analysis, and statistical analyses.

Research results

A total of 7457 differentially expressed genes and 14 gene interaction modules were identified. These module genes were significantly involved in the positive regulation of protein transport, gastric acid secretion, insulin-like growth factor receptor binding and other biological processes as well as p53 signaling pathway, epidermal growth factor signaling pathway and epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway. In addition, transcription factors (including HIF1A) and ncRNAs (including CRNDE and hsa-mir-330-3p) that significantly regulate dysfunction modules were identified. Further, survival analysis showed that GNGT2 was closely related to survival of esophageal cancer. Differentially expressed genes with strong methylation regulation ability were identified, including SST and SH3GL2.

Research conclusions

Overall, our work describes in detail the role of multifactor-mediated dysfunction module in the whole process of esophageal cancer, identifying key genes for staging and related biological processes, which may help to identify potential molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets for the deterioration of esophageal cancer.

Research perspectives

This work not only helps us to reveal the potential regulatory factors involved in the development of disease but also deepen our understanding of its deterioration mechanism.