Construction and comprehensive analysis of the competing endogenous RNA network in endometrial adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Abstract Background Endometrial carcinoma (EC) is one of the most common gynecological malignant tumors. In this study, we constructed gene co-expression networks to identify key modules and hub genes involved in the pathogenesis of EC. Results The MEturquoise module was found to be significantly related to hypertension and the MEbrown module was significantly related to the history of other malignancies. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the MEturquoise module was associated with the GO biological process terms of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter, positive regulation of male gonad development, endocardial cushion development, and endothelial cell differentiation. The MEbrown module was associated with GO terms DNA binding, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter. A total of 10 hub genes were identified and compared with the available datasets at transcriptional and translational levels. Conclusions The identified ceRNAs may play a critical role in the progression and metastasis of EC and are thus candidate therapeutic targets and potential prognostic biomarkers. The two modules constructed further provide a useful reference that will advance understanding of the mechanisms of tumorigenesis in EC.