Volume 34, Issue 5 pp. 880-889
Gastroenterology

Identification of genes with universally upregulated or downregulated expressions in colorectal cancer

Kai Song

Kai Song

Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China

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Wei Su

Wei Su

Northern Translational Medicine Research and Cooperation Center, Heilongjiang Academy of Medical Sciences, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China

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Yanlong Liu

Yanlong Liu

Department of Colorectal Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China

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Jiahui Zhang

Jiahui Zhang

Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China

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Qirui Liang

Qirui Liang

Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China

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Na Li

Na Li

Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China

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Qingzhou Guan

Qingzhou Guan

Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China

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Jun He

Jun He

Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China

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Xuefeng Bai

Xuefeng Bai

Department of Colorectal Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin, China

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Wenyuan Zhao

Corresponding Author

Wenyuan Zhao

Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China

Correspondence

Wenyuan Zhao and Zheng Guo, Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, China.

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Zheng Guo

Corresponding Author

Zheng Guo

Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China

Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Gastrointestinal Cancer, Department of Bioinformatics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China

Correspondence

Wenyuan Zhao and Zheng Guo, Department of Systems Biology, College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150086, China.

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 05 November 2018
Citations: 15
Declaration of conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Financial support: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 61601151 and 81572935), the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (grant number C2016037), and the Joint Technology Innovation Fund of Fujian Province (grant number 2016Y9044).

Abstract

Background and Aim

Differentially expressed (DE) genes detected at the population-level through case–control comparison provide no information on the dysregulation frequencies of DE genes in a cancer. In this work, we aimed to identify the genes with universally upregulated or downregulated expressions in colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods

We firstly clarified that DE genes in an individual cancer tissue should be the disease-relevant genes, which are dysregulated in the cancer tissue in comparison with its own previously normal state. Then, we identified DE genes at the individual level for 2233 CRC samples collected from multiple data sources using the RankComp algorithm.

Results

We found 26 genes that were upregulated or downregulated in almost all the 2233 CRC samples and validated the results using 124 CRC tissues with paired adjacent normal tissues. Especially, we found that two genes (AJUBA and EGFL6), upregulated universally in CRC tissues, were extremely lowly expressed in normal colorectal tissues, which were considered to be oncogenes in CRC oncogenesis and development. Oppositely, we found that one gene (LPAR1), downregulated universally in CRC tissues, was silenced in CRC tissues but highly expressed in normal colorectal tissues, which were considered to be tumor suppressor genes in CRC. Functional evidences revealed that these three genes may induce CRC through deregulating pathways for ribosome biogenesis, cell proliferation, and cell cycle.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the individual-level DE genes analysis can help us find genes dysregulated universally in CRC tissues, which may be important diagnostic biomarkers and therapy targets.

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