Abstract
BackgroundCancer initiation genes (CIGs) are genes that can directly promote cell proliferation or induce cancer. There are thousands of published studies identifying various CIGs; however, no systematic collection or description is available.ResultsTo construct a CIG reference for genetic screening, we have collected 177 human genes curated from 1507 PubMed abstracts. To facilitate data queries and browsing, the identified CIGs along with extensive bioinformatic annotations were stored in an online database called CIGene. Initial functional analysis revealed an overlooked role for cell motility in cancer initiation. Subsequent cross-referencing of known tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes against the 177 CIGs identified 96 and 81 CIGs with and without known oncogenic roles, respectively. Successive network analyses of all 177 CIGs determined that the two groups of genes were more likely to link within their group. The distinct molecular functions for these groups were also confirmed with functional studies. While the 96 known oncogenic genes had fundamental roles in gene regulation and signaling, the remaining 81 genes possessed more ancillary functions, such enhancer binding. Further network and mutational analysis of the 96 known oncogenic genes revealed that mutations in these genes were highly prevalent in multiple cancers. By focusing on breast cancer, we found that 32 of the 96 genes with mutations in breast cancers were significantly associated with patient survival.ConclusionsAs the first literature-based online resource for CIGs, CIGene will serve as a useful gateway for the systematic analysis of cancer initiation. CIGene is freely available to all academic users at http://soft.bioinfo-minzhao.org/cigene/.
Highlights
Cancer initiation genes (CIGs) are genes that can directly promote cell proliferation or induce cancer
By carefully curating all the sentences, we identified all CIGs clearly defined within the literature
In this study, we constructed the first literature-based CIGene database, which currently contains 177 human genes curated from 1507 PubMed abstracts
Summary
Cancer initiation genes (CIGs) are genes that can directly promote cell proliferation or induce cancer. Cancer development is a dynamic cellular process driven by multi-step acquisition of genetic mutations, clonal expansion, and selection [1]. Though numerous mutations may occur during cancer progression, resulting in genetic heterogeneity, the somatic mutations that initiate cancer inadvertently provide potent selective pressure for the Genetically, the stepwise acquisition of defective tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) and hyperactive oncogenes (OCGs) greatly contribute to the dysregulation of cell proliferation and apoptosis during oncogenesis [3]. Thousands of potential cancer-related genes, including TSGs and OCGs, have been identified in various cancer types; mutations in these genes could be acquired during cancer progression and might not have a specific role during cancer initiation.
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