Identification of Genes Associated with the Metastasis of Pheochromocytoma/Paraganglioma Based on Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis.

Qisheng Su,Qinpei Ding,Xiaohong Li,Yuling Qiu,Zunni Zhang,Wuning Mo,Zheng Yang

doi:10.1155/2020/3876834

Abstract

Background Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PCPG) is a benign neuroendocrine neoplasm in most cases, but metastasis and other malignant behaviors can be observed in this tumor. The aim of this study was to identify genes associated with the metastasis of PCPG. Methods The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) expression profile data and clinical information were downloaded from the cbioportal, and the weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was conducted. The gene coexpression modules were extracted from the network through the WGCNA package of R software. We further extracted metastasis-related modules of PCPG. Enrichment analysis of Biological Process of Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes was carried out for important modules, and survival analysis of hub genes in the modules was performed. Results A total of 168 PCPG samples were included in this study. The weighted gene coexpression network was constructed with 5125 genes of the top 25% variance among the 20501 genes obtained from the database. We identified 11 coexpression modules, among which the salmon module was associated with the age of PCPG patients at diagnosis, metastasis, and malignancy of the tumors. Conclusion WGCNA was performed to identify the gene coexpression modules and hub genes in the metastasis-related gene module of PCPG. The findings in this study provide a new clue for further study of the mechanisms underlying the PCPG metastasis.

Highlights

Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PCPG) is a neoplasm that synthesizes and secretes catecholamines (CA) in the neuroendocrine system
Tumor metastasis is an important factor in determining the treatment regimen of PCPG. us, studies on PCPG metastasis will contribute to further analysis of the treatment efficacy and prognosis of this malignancy
We further showed that the patients with a high expression of genes in the salmon module had an earlier onset age, and the eigengene of the salmon module was highly correlated with the metastasis as well as malignancy of tumors

Summary

Introduction

Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PCPG) is a neoplasm that synthesizes and secretes catecholamines (CA) in the neuroendocrine system. PCPG features paroxysmal hypertension with palpitations, hyperhidrosis, and headache It can cause disorders in blood sugar and insulin metabolism, thereby endangering life [1, 2]. Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (PCPG) is a benign neuroendocrine neoplasm in most cases, but metastasis and other malignant behaviors can be observed in this tumor. E aim of this study was to identify genes associated with the metastasis of PCPG. We identified 11 coexpression modules, among which the salmon module was associated with the age of PCPG patients at diagnosis, metastasis, and malignancy of the tumors. WGCNA was performed to identify the gene coexpression modules and hub genes in the metastasis-related gene module of PCPG. WGCNA was performed to identify the gene coexpression modules and hub genes in the metastasis-related gene module of PCPG. e findings in this study provide a new clue for further study of the mechanisms underlying the PCPG metastasis

Methods

Results

Conclusion