Department of Thoracic Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, People' s Republic of China.
PLoS One. 2022 Jun 15;17(6):e0269742. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269742. eCollection 2022.
The current study aimed to explore the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks associated with alcohol-related esophageal cancer (EC). RNA-sequencing and clinical data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs, DELs), and miRNAs (DEMs) in patients with alcohol-related and non-alcohol-related EC were identified. Prognostic RNAs were identified by performing Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis was employed to build the gene modules. The lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks were constructed based on our in silico analyses using data from miRcode, starBase, and miRTarBase databases. Functional enrichment analysis was performed for the genes in the identified ceRNA networks. A total of 906 DEGs, 40 DELs, and 52 DEMs were identified. There were eight lncRNAs and miRNAs each, including ST7-AS2 and miR-1269, which were significantly associated with the survival rate of patients with EC. Of the seven gene modules, the blue and turquoise modules were closely related to disease progression; the genes in this module were selected to construct the ceRNA networks. SNHG12-miR-1-ST6GAL1, SNHG3-miR-1-ST6GAL1, SPAG5-AS1-miR-133a-ST6GAL1, and SNHG12-hsa-miR-33a-ST6GA interactions, associated with the N-glycan biosynthesis pathway, may have key roles in alcohol-related EC. Thus, the identified biomarkers provide a novel insight into the molecular mechanism of alcohol-related EC.
本研究旨在探讨与酒精相关的食管癌（EC）相关的 lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA 网络。从癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）下载 RNA 测序和临床数据，并鉴定出与酒精相关和非酒精相关 EC 患者的差异表达基因（DEGs）、长非编码 RNA（lncRNAs，DELs）和 microRNA（DEMs）。通过 Kaplan-Meier 生存分析鉴定预后 RNA。采用加权基因共表达网络分析构建基因模块。根据我们使用 miRcode、starBase 和 miRTarBase 数据库的计算分析，构建 lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA 竞争内源性 RNA（ceRNA）网络。对鉴定出的 ceRNA 网络中的基因进行功能富集分析。共鉴定出 906 个 DEGs、40 个 DELs 和 52 个 DEMs。有 8 个 lncRNA 和 miRNA 与 EC 患者的生存率显著相关，包括 ST7-AS2 和 miR-1269。在七个基因模块中，蓝色和绿松石模块与疾病进展密切相关；该模块中的基因被选择来构建 ceRNA 网络。SNHG12-miR-1-ST6GAL1、SNHG3-miR-1-ST6GAL1、SPAG5-AS1-miR-133a-ST6GAL1 和 SNHG12-hsa-miR-33a-ST6GA 相互作用，与 N-糖基化生物合成途径相关，可能在酒精相关的 EC 中发挥关键作用。因此，鉴定出的生物标志物为酒精相关 EC 的分子机制提供了新的见解。
