Identification and Functional Analysis of Hub Genes in Cell Cycle Pathway Linked to the Development of Lung Cancer with Non-Small Cells

Abstract

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most prevalent cause of cancer-related fatalities. We combined different gene expression datasets to screen out eight hub genes (CDC6, PLK1, BUB1B, CHEK1, TTK, CDC20, CCNB2, and PTTG1) associated with the Cell cycle pathway, which also showed significant poor prognosis and late upregulation of LUAD in NSCLC. KRAS and EGFR are the star molecules in lung cancer. KRAS causes overexpression of hub genes through up-regulation of the cell cycle pathway, and the up-regulation of hub genes in NSCLC can be confirmed at amounts of mRNA and proteins. Hub genes have a certain correlation with EGFR, and upregulation of the cell cycle pathway may cause resistance in NSCLC caused by EGFR mutations. The emergence of this resistance may be related to the change of Gene copy number alteration (CAN) and co-occurrence of BUB1B and CCNB2, PLK1 and TTK, CHEK1 and TTK. These cell cycle subtype genes provide a new perspective for treating patients with NSCLC, and the specific mechanism of hub genes can be further studied.