Open AccessFunctional transcriptomic annotation and protein–protein interaction analysis identify EZH 2 and UBE 2C as key upregulated proteins in ovarian cancer
Author(s) -
MartínezCanales Sandra,
López de Rodas Miguel,
NunciaCantarero Miriam,
Páez Raquel,
Amir Eitan,
Győrffy Balázs,
Pandiella Atanasio,
GalánMoya Eva María,
Ocaña Alberto
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
cancer medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 53
ISSN - 2045-7634
DOI - 10.1002/cam4.1406
Subject(s) - downregulation and upregulation , ezh2 , biology , cyclin dependent kinase 1 , ovarian cancer , cancer research , transcriptome , cell cycle , cancer , gene , histone , genetics , gene expression
Although early stage ovarian cancer is in most cases a curable disease, some patients relapse even with appropriate adjuvant treatment. Therefore, the identification of patient and tumor characteristics to better stratify risk and guide rational drug development is desirable. Using transcriptomic functional annotation followed by protein–protein interacting ( PPI ) network analyses, we identified functions that were upregulated and associated with detrimental outcome in patients with early stage ovarian cancer. Some of the identified functions included cell cycle, cell division, signal transduction/protein modification, cellular response to extracellular stimuli or transcription regulation, among others. Genes within these functions included AURKA , AURKB , CDK 1, BIRC 5, or CHEK 1 among others. Of note, the histone‐lysine N‐methyltransferase ( EZH 2 ) and the ubiquitin‐conjugating enzyme E2C ( UBE 2C ) genes were found to be upregulated and amplified in 10% and 6% of tumors, respectively. Of note, EZH 2 and UBE 2C were identified as principal interacting proteins of druggable networks. In conclusion, we describe a set of genes overexpressed in ovarian cancer with potential for therapeutic intervention including EZH 2 and UBE 2C .