Identification of druggable hub genes and key pathways associated with cervical cancer by protein-protein interaction analysis: An in silico study

The uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the cervix leads to cervical cancer (CC), the fourth most common gynecologic cancer. So far, many studies have been conducted on CC; however, it is still necessary to discover the hub gene, key pathways, and the exact underlying mechanisms involved in developing this disease.

This study aims to use gene expression patterns and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis to identify key pathways and druggable hub genes in CC.

In this in silico analysis, 2 microarray gene expression datasets; GSE63514 (104 cancer and 24 normal samples), and GSE9750 (42 cancer and 24 normal samples) were extracted from gene expression omnibus to identify common differentially expressed genes between them. Gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway analysis were performed via the Enrichr database. STRING 12.0 database and CytoHubba plugin in Cytoscape 3.9.1 software were implemented to create and analyze the PPI network. Finally, druggable hub genes were screened.

Based on the degree method, 10 key genes were known as the hub genes after the screening of PPI networks by the CytoHubba plugin. NCAPG, KIF11, TTK, PBK, MELK, ASPM, TPX2, BUB1, TOP2A, and KIF2C are the key genes, of which 5 genes (KIF11, TTK, PBK, MELK, and TOP2A) were druggable.

This research provides a novel vision for designing therapeutic targets in patients with CC. However, these findings should be verified through additional experiments.