Identification of Drug Targets and Agents Associated with HepatocellularCarcinoma through Integrated Bioinformatics Analysis
Md. Alim Hossen, Md. Selim Reza, Md. Harun-Or-Roshid, Md. Ariful Islam, Mst. Ayesha Siddika, Md. Nurul Haque Mollah
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death globally. The mechanisms underlying the development of HCC are mostly unknown till now. OBJECTIVE: The main goal of this study was to identify potential drug target proteins and agents for the treatment of HCC. METHODS: The publicly available three independent mRNA expression profile datasets were downloaded from the NCBI-GEO database to explore common differentially expressed genes (cDEGs) between HCC and control samples using the Statistical LIMMA approach. Hub-cDEGs as drug targets highlighting their functions, pathways, and regulators were identified by using integrated bioinformatics tools and databases. Finally, Hub-cDEGs-guided top-ranked drug agents were identified by molecular docking study for HCC. RESULTS: ) were selected as Hub-cDEGs. The GO functional and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of Hub-cDEGs revealed some crucial cancer-stimulating biological processes, molecular functions, cellular components, and signaling pathways. The interaction network analysis identified three TF proteins and five miRNAs as the key transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators of HubcDEGs. Then, we detected the proposed Hub-cDEGs guided top-ranked three anti-HCC drug molecules (Dactinomycin, Vincristine, Sirolimus) that were also highly supported by the already published top-ranked HCC-causing Hub-DEGs mediated receptors. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study would be useful resources for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapies of HCC.