Identification of crucial genes and pathwaysassociated with esophageal squamous cell carcinomabased on bioinformatics analysis

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), isone of the common types of cancer with a high mortality rate.Although there have been advancements in detecting ESCC atan early stage, the survival rate for patients remains low. Theobjective of our study was to identify crucial genes and pathwaysinvolved in the development of ESCC based on bioinformaticsanalysis.Materials and Methods: The microarray dataset GSE۱۶۱۵۳۳was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database.Analyses were conducted on a total of ۵۶ tissue samples,consisting of paired normal and tumor tissues collected from ۲۸patients diagnosed with ESCC. Then, differentially expressedgenes (DEGs) were normalized using the Transcriptome AnalysisConsole (TAC). Afterward, these DEGs were identified withFDR-adjusted P-value < ۰.۰۰۱ and -۲<|[log FC]|<۲. The visualization of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network wasdone by using STRING, Cytoscape, and Gephi. Finally, theDEGs were examined through the utilization of KEGG pathwaysand GO terms by “cluster Profiler” package in R.Results: ۲۲۴۴ DEGs were detected which included ۱۰۲۶ upregulatedand ۱۲۱۸ down-regulated DEGs. We identified fivehub genes, including IL۱B, MMP۹, CXCL۸, CCL۲, and JUN.In addition, results from the KEGG pathway analysis revealedthat these genes were enriched in important pathways includingthe AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetes complications,the interaction of viral proteins with cytokines and cytokine receptors,and the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. The molecularfunction category DEGs for ESCC were highly enrichedfor the following GO terms: chemokine activity (GO:۰۰۰۸۰۰۹),CXCR chemokine receptor binding (GO:۰۰۴۵۲۳۶), andchemokine receptor binding (GO:۰۰۴۲۳۷۹).Conclusion: In Conclusion: , this study provides new insightsinto the molecular mechanisms underlying ESCC developmentand identifies potential hub genes and pathways that could bepotential therapeutic targets of ESCC cancer