Targeting Colon Cancer via RT2 Peptide: A System Biology Study

 Antimicrobial peptides such as RT2 showed anticancer properties against wild range of tumors. Molecular mechanism of anticancer effect of RT2 is a challenging subject. 

 The goal of this study is to investigate the anticancer molecular mechanism of RT2 through protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. For this aim, this bioinformatics evaluation of proteome profile of colon cancer is carried out. 

 By the application of Cytoscape V.3.9.1 and integrated apps, the profile of interaction network and related centrality is analyzed. Enrichment analysis of hub-bottlenecks was also performed and highlighted biological processes were visualized and determined. 

 A number of 207 differentially expressed proteins were retrieved by PPI network analysis that 10 hub-bottlenecks were introduced. Among these differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), only AKT1 is from the queried DEPs. Key biological processes contributing to RT2 targeting mechanism include “Regulation of fibroblast proliferation”, “Positive regulation of cyclin-dependent protein serine/threonine kinase activity”, “positive regulation of miRNA transcription”, and “fungiform papilla formation”. 

 In conclusion, central proteins Tp53, MYC, EGFR, AKT1, HDAC1, and SRC can be introduced as a targeted biomarker panel of bioactive peptide treatments. However, extensive research are required to establish this claim prior to clinical application.