Identification and Analysis of Hub Genes of Basal-like Breast Cancer by Integrated Bioinformatics Methods / 医学研究杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To mine and analyse the hub genes associated with the prognosis of basal-like breast cancer(BLBC)by bioinformatic methods.Methods We searched the GEO database to obtain an appropriate microarray dataset related to molecular subtyp-ing of breast cancer,and identified modules associated with BLBC by WGCNA.Then,the top 10％differential expressed genes in the module were screened as candidate genes using PPI and cytohubba.The candidate genes were subjected to survival analysis and expression analysis to obtain hub genes.Finally,we explored the correlation between the expressive level of hub genes and immune cell infiltration,chemokines,and immunomodulators by TIMER and TISIDB database.Furthermore,transcription factors(TFs)-hub gene network was constructed.Results A total of 891 genes in black modules related to BLBC were analyzed,and two hub genes,ESPL1 and CCNB2,were identified from the 80differential expressed genes.Two hub genes are associated with BLBC immune cell infiltration,mainly inclu-ding Th2 cells,CD8+T cells,endothelial cells,and tumor-associated fibroblasts.They were also related to chemokines,immunostimu-lators,immunosuppressive factors,and MHC molecules.The upstream transcriptional regulatory network of hub genes showed that 22 transcription factors simultaneously regulate two hub genes.Conclusion ESPL1 and CCNB2 are prognostic markers of BLBC and related to breast tumor immunity.