Abstract
Abstract
Identifying hub genes that contribute to the aggressiveness of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is of the utmost importance. The GEO database found 14 microarray datasets for Homo sapiens, but some were excluded due to missing phenotype information, lncRNA expression, and treatment exposure. The study involved 171 human specimens, including 128 ACCs, 17 ACAs, and 26 normal adrenal cortex samples. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was utilized to identify ACC hub genes and their differential expression was assessed with microarray meta-analysis. Survival analysis was conducted in two steps, with and without sex. The expression level of survival genes was compared between ACC stages, and the impact of TP53 gene mutations was assessed. Enrichment, coexpression, and network analyses were performed. The diagnostic and predictive potential of the genes was evaluated using single gene and multivariate regression analyses. It was discovered that twenty hub genes exhibited increased expression in both benign and malignant tissues. Moreover, a set of five genes demonstrated a significant correlation with ACC survival, namely DNAJC9, ATAD2, RFC4, GGH, and PCLAF. The genes GGH and RFC4 were recently discovered associated with ACC. Women with survival genes overexpression experienced earlier catastrophic deaths than men. Patients with TP53 mutations showed PCLAFand DNAJC9 overexpression. There was an association between increased RFC4gene expression and ACC tumor progression. Coexpression analysis substantiated the fact that survival genes exhibited a significant positive correlation. An analysis of the network revealed that RFC4 and ATAD2 were the most essential proteins. GGH had the greatest diagnostic potential for ACC and combining GGH, PCLAF, DNAJC9 and RFC4 led to an outstanding ACC diagnosis. A limitation of the study was the rarity of ACC tumors.
Publisher
Research Square Platform LLC
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