PHTF2 regulates lipids metabolism in gastric cancer

Identification of hub genes and key pathways of gastric cancer was recognized to be essential to elucidate the tumorigenesis of GC. This study was aimed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in GC via bioinformatics methods and their related pathways involved in the pathological process of GC. Gene expression profile datasets acquired by microarray chips or RNA-seq were downloaded from GEO dataset and TCGA, and 298 differentially expressed genes was identified. The Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Gene and Genomic Encyclopedia (KEGG) pathways of DEGs were then analyzed by the DAVID database to elucidate the potential molecular functions of DEGs. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs was further analyzed with the STRING database and PHTF2 was identified as a hub gene in the PPI network. Subsequently, PHTF2 was found to be highly expressed in different subtypes of gastric cancer tissues obtained from TCGA database or clinical patients, resulting with a poor prognosis. By GSEA, PHTF2 was found to significantly enrich the fatty acid metabolism pathway in gastric cancer. Moreover, PHTF2-regulated lipids metabolism significantly affected the tumorigenesis of GC cells. In summary, this work identified a new mechanism by which PHTF2 precipitated in the pathological process of GC by regulating cellular lipid metabolism.