Identification of core genes associated with prostate cancer progression and outcome via bioinformatics analysis in multiple databases

Introduction

Prostate cancer is the second most common male malignancy tumor in the world (Farhood et al., 2019). The morbidity and mortality of prostate cancer has surpassed bladder cancer and kidney cancer. It is now the most common tumor in the adult urology department in China (Mayer et al., 2001). There are several factors can increase the risk of prostate cancer (for example, family factors, bald, gonorrhea, smoking; Lian et al., 2015; Rao et al., 2015; Islami et al., 2014), and genetic predisposition is considered to be one of the important factors of the incidence of prostate cancer (Ju-Kun et al., 2016; Jansson et al., 2012; Hemminki, 2012). At present, 100 susceptibility loci were identified, the mechanism of prostate cancer is incomprehensible, although a large number of studies have been conducted on the development and recurrence of prostate cancer. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test has been used to assist the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Early PSA detection, however, could lead to over diagnosis and over treatment of prostate cancer. More recently, advances in high-throughput sequencing and screening techniques have enabled us to screen differently expressed genes at the same time. Therefore, this article aimed to identify the core protein coding genes related to the progression of cancer recurrence, metastasis and prognosis by bioinformatics analysis. As errors in an individual dataset are unavoidable, multiple datasets were analyzed. False positive results could be ignored by independent mRNA microarray analysis; false negative results have been ignored by multiple mRNA microarrays intersection analysis. Thus, four kinds of combinations were established between four datasets downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between cancer and non cancer tissues when the screening criteria met any three of the four datasets (Li et al., 2017). Afterwards we obtained six core differential expression genes which were verified in TCGA PRAD, GSE21032 and other datasets, besides these six core genes acted as independent prognostic factors and positively correlated with Gleason score (Katarzyna, Patrycja & Maciej, 2015). The six real core genes were thereby identified as potential biomarkers for prostate cancer.

Materials and Methods

Result

Identification of DEGs in PCa

A total of 298 downregulated genes and 137 upregulated DEGs were screened, as shown in the Venn diagram (Fig. 1A). Expression datasets GSE46602, GSE104749, GSE38241 and GSE69223 were obtained from the GEO database. GEO2R was used to screen the DEGs with the criteria of |log2FC| (fold change) ≥ 1 and P-value < 0.01. Afterward, we got 1,953 DEGs in GSE46602, 2,513 DEGs in GSE104749, 2,682 DEGs in GSE38241 and 2,639 DEGs in GSE69223. Considering the errors between the four datasets, we used the genes that met the screening criteria of any three datasets for the next analysis.

TCGA prostate cancer gene matrix was transformed by log2(exp + 1).

Candidate gene selection, analysis

A total of 20 core genes with a degree ≥20 selected by MCODE were obtained from the protein–protein network, and they were considered to be candidate core genes. The co-expression network of core genes was analyzed by cBioPortal (Fig. 2A). Heatmap showed that the core genes in cancer groups upregulated more significantly than in normal groups by UCSC (https://xena.ucsc.edu) (Fig. 2C). In addition, the core genes were considered to have a close relation to the Gleason score (Fig. 2B). We adjusted the highest color according to 100% saturation parameters of log2 (norm_count + 1) ≥ 10.4 and the lowest color according to 100% saturation parameters of log2 (norm_count + 1) ≤ 2.65 (Fig. 2B). We compared solid normal tissue to primary tumor tissue (Figs. 2B and 2C). We found that CCNB1, TPX2, CENPF, TOP2A, MKI67, ECT2, TK1, RRM2, NUSAP1, CKS2 were overexpressed consistently in the 568 TCGA Prostate Cancer (PRAD) samples. Therefore, these genes were closely related to carcinogenesis and stage.

Selection real core genes

To further explore the relationship to phenotype and prognosis status, we performed differential analysis, disease-free survival analysis and ROC curve analysis in GSE21032 (Figs. 3A–3R). CCNB1, CKS2, RRM2, MKI67, TK1 and TOP2A were considered to be core genes with the lowest P value in the above 20 candidate genes. The results showed that MKI67 had the best prognostic value and the most significant P value (P = 0.0024). In addition, CCNB1, CKS2, RRM2, TK1 and TOP2A also showed closely clinical correlation. Based on the above analysis, the six genes were predicted to be the core factors affecting prostate cancer. To determine our prediction, we found CCNB1, CKS2, MKI67, RRM2, TK1 and TOP2A acted as independent prognostic factors in TCGA prostate cancer (Figs. 4A–4R). In order to verify the differential expression of key factors at the transcriptional and translational levels, we found cases of immunohistochemistry of core factors in the HPA database. In contrast to normal prostate tissue, we found that the cancer group stained deeper. At the same time, the expression difference of core genes was found between local lesions and metastatic patients in different external data sets of Oncomine database (Figs. 5A–5L). These findings clarified that core factors played an important role in the entire process of prostate cancer.

Clinical relevance and GSEA

CCNB1, CKS2, MKI67, RRM2, TK1 and TOP2A were found with positive clinical correlation to GLEASON SCORE (Figs. 6A–6F), and we could clearly identify the core factors as cancer risk factors, the expression level increased as Gleason score elevated. GSEA analysis suggested that cell cycle, DNA replication, GNRH signaling pathway, P53_signaling_pathway, were enriched in CKS2, MKI67, RRM2, TK1 and TOP2A high expression group jointly (Figs. 7A–7E). The P-value of core genes were listed (Table 3). Therefore, the core genes were positively related to the four cancer related pathways jointly.

Table 3:

GSEA results of core genes in TCGA PRAD.

The P-value of the P53_signaling_pathway, GNRH signaling pathway, DNA replication, cell cycle in the 5 core genes were listed.

	P53_signaling_pathway		GNRH_signaling_pathway		DNA_replication		Cell_cycle
	NOM P-val	FDR q-val	NOM P-val	FDR q-val	NOM P-val	FDR q-val	NOM P-val	FDR q-val
RRM2	<0.001	0.0012	<0.001	4.65E−04	<0.001	0.001	<0.001	6.04E−04
CKS2	<0.001	0.0054	0.125	0.1249	<0.001	0.0059	<0.001	0.00254688
MKI67	<0.001	0.0026	<0.001	9.34E−04	<0.001	0.0023	<0.001	0.001120284
TK1	<0.001	0.0124	0.0653	0.0708	<0.001	0.0049	<0.001	0.003169282
TOP2A	0.001992032	0.0045	<0.001	0.0029	<0.001	0.004227	<0.001	0.00279397

DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8786/table-3

Discussion

Despite the advances that have been made in understanding the molecular processes at the onset and in the progression of this disease, PCa still remains high morbidity and mortality, particularly in low-income countries (Hernández et al., 2019). However, the formation mechanisms of PCa are incomprehensive. Therefore, we excavated potential biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment (Yang et al., 2018).

In the present study, 298 downregulated and 137 upregulated genes mainly enriched in cell adhesion, biological adhesion, regulation of cell proliferation and oxidation reduction. Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (Ep-CAM) is considered to have a critical role in carcinogenesis and cell proliferation (Tai et al., 2007). In addition, oxidoreductase activity often plays a crucial role in antioxidant defense and encodes tumor suppressors that are active in tumorigenesis (Li et al., 2017). Moreover, in the prostate carcinoma PC-3 cell model, the action of the gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) analog, bombesin (BN), on the activation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and its invasiveness suggests that this kinase might favor metastasis (Lacoste, Aprikian & Chevalier, 2005). In conclusion, these biological functions are closely related to the development and progression of prostate cancer.

Afterwards, a total of 20 candidate core genes were screened with degree ≥20. The full name and the function of the 20 core genes are listed (Table 4). CCNB1, CKS2, MKI67, RRM2, TK1, TOP2A were identified as real core genes by GSE21032 and validated in TCGA. The overexpression of CKS2 corresponds to metastasis and prognosis in various malignancies such as breast cancer, liver cancer and PCa (Yu, Zhong & Qiao, 2013). Other research showed that the forced expression of CKS2 has a positive correlation to cell growth, and also protects the cells from apoptosis (Lan et al., 2008). Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) participates in DNA precursor synthesis and acts as a biomarker for malignant cancer including prostate and breast cancer (Jagarlamudi, Hansson & Eriksson, 2015). Meanwhile, research into serological TK1’s use in predicting precancer in a study involving 56,178 people showed that serological TK1 protein is a potential proliferative biomarker for early discovery of persons at risk for the development of, or who already have, malignancies or diseases associated with the development of malignancies (Wang et al., 2018). Moreover, TK1 is upregulated in the S phase of the cell cycle and its presence in cells is an indicator of active cell proliferation (Jagarlamudi & Shaw, 2018). The marker of proliferation, Ki-67 (MKI67), functions to mark tumor cell proliferation, including in the prostate, and has a close relation to the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) (Lindsay et al., 2016). Ki67 may improve the prediction of prostate cancer outcomes based on pathological standard parameters, improving prognosis as well as the monitoring of prostate cancer patients (Pascale et al., 2016). TOP2A is considered to be a biomarker for early identification of patients who have increased metastatic potential (Labbé et al., 2017). TOP2A encodes for topoisomerase IIα which controls the topology structure of DNA as well as cell cycle progression. This enzyme is a cell proliferation biomarker of cancer and normal tissue that is valuable for prostate cancer treatment (De Resende et al., 2013; Li et al., 2014). Cyclin B1 binds to CDC2 to ensure the transition toward mitosis by acting in the cell cycle from the G2 to M phase. High cyclin B1 levels, meanwhile, contribute to the development of polyploidy. Recent research has shown that Cyclin B1 is involved in breast, prostate cancer (Niranjan et al., 2016; Roh et al., 2005). A study also showed that elevated Cyclin B1 levels served as a biomarker for the prognosis of prostate cancer patients who were being treated with chemotherapy (Gomez et al., 2007). Ribonucleotide reductase regulatory subunit M2 (RRM2) is an enzyme that limits the rate of DNA synthesis and repair (Li et al., 2018; Wu et al., 2018). Mostly, RRM2 was overexpressed in PCa patients with a high Gleason score and an advanced T stage. RRM2 was considered to be a biomarker for prediction of recurrence in low risk PCa patients (Huang et al., 2014). In this study, these genes were confirmed to be the core genes in the same protein–protein network. The expression level performed consistently in prostate cancer. By the analysis of GSEA we found that these genes induced prostate cancer consistently by the cell cycle pathway and P53 signaling pathway and GNRH signaling pathway.

Besides the six core genes we mentioned, we found EZH2, AURKA, BIRC5, CCNB2, TPX2, CENPF, NCAPG, NUSAP1 involved in the 20 candidate genes were demonstrated to be risk factors of prostate cancer. Zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) acts as the methyltransferase component of PRC2. Its enhancer regulation disorder is widely found in many aggressive, advanced cancers (Murashima et al., 2019). PRC2 inhibits stem cell self-renewal, cell cycle, cell differentiation and cell transformation through EZH2 (H3K27me3) modification (Alzrigat, Jernberg-Wiklund & Licht, 2018). Drug therapies targeting EZH2 may be a new strategy for advanced PCa and docetaxel-resistant PCa patients (Liu et al., 2019; Qiu et al., 2019). Aurora kinase A is encoded by the AURKA gene and has a vital function in the development of the cell cycle. It both controls and promotes entry into mitosis (López-Cortés et al., 2018). Studies have shown that AURKA is linked to pathological stage and distant metastasis in HCC (Chen et al., 2017). The AURKA gene has been proven to amplify in 67% of PCa patients with highly aggressive hormone-naive castration resistant cancer. AURKA, therefore, was considered to be a potential prognostic biomarker for the progression of high-risk small-cell prostate cancer’s resistance to castration (Park et al., 2014). One aspect of cancer is that apoptosis is uninhibited. Survivin, an inhibitor-of-apoptosis protein, is encoded by BIRC5, a gene that is linked to the regulation of apoptosis and cell division (Moore et al., 2014; Hmeljak et al., 2011). Studies have shown that BIRC5 is a biomarker for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma as well as breast, liver and prostate cancer. In PTEN deletion mouse model, there was a positive correlation between the survivin level and tumor growth. Researchers found that survivin plays an important role in the conversion process of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia to adenocarcinoma (Adisetiyo et al., 2013) CCNB2 is linked to the process of transition from the G2 to the M phase. It has acted as a prognosis biomarker of non-small-cell lung cancer (Qian et al., 2015). Recently, studies have shown that CDC2 specifically binds to Cyclin B2 to increase cell migration, relating to development in CRPC (Huang et al., 2017; Manes et al., 2003). The targeting protein for Xenopus kinesin-like protein 2 (TPX2) is a microtubule associated protein that targets TPX2 repressed breast cancer by inhibiting the PI3k/AKT/P21 signaling pathway and activating the p53 pathway (Chen et al., 2018). High levels of chromosome missegregation is related to cell death and tumorigenesis. Recently, studies have shown that targeting TPX2 in breast and prostate cancer lowered the rate of chromosome missegregation, and have therefore regarded TPX2 as a candidate biomarker for treatment (Pan et al., 2017). Thus, TPX2 is considered to be a candidate target for PCa patients. Centromere protein F participates in cancer metabolism by regulating pyruvate kinase M2 phosphorylation signaling (Shahid et al., 2018). Recent work suggests that the upregulation of CENPF is linked to aggressive prostate cancer (Göbel et al., 2018). NCAPG has been demonstrated to be related to the overexpression of CCNB1. It is suggested to be a candidate target for HCC treatment (Zhang et al., 2018). The overexpression of Non-SMC condensing I complex subunit G (NCAPG) is involved in CRPC, and thus it may be a biomarker for PCa (Arai et al., 2018). Nucleolar and spindle-associated protein 1 (NUSAP1) is a prognosis biomarker in the in the earliest stage of PCa (Gordon et al., 2017). The overexpression of NUSAP1 may be related to the increased invasion and proliferation of PCa cells through the loss of RB1 (Gordon, Gulzar & Brooks, 2015).

Afterwards, we found the researches of CDCA8, ANLN, CDCA5, ECT2, HMMR, CENPU were poor, which the prognosis value and mechanisms needed further investigation. Cell division cycle associated 8 (CDCA8) over-expression is related to mitosis and tumor growth and may act as a prognosis biomarker in bladder cancer, cutaneous melanoma, breast cancer and osteosarcoma (Bi et al., 2018; Dai et al., 2015). The regulation mechanism of CDCA8 in PCa patients, however, is unclear and needed further study. ANLN was found to relate to the cell cycle and growth in PCa, but the regulation mechanisms are currently unknown (Takayama et al., 2019). CDCA5 knockdown led to cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase (Tian et al., 2018). Epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 (ECT2) acts as an exchange factor of the guanine nucleotide, which is related to the progression of cell division regulation and the cell cycle (Bai et al., 2018). Hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor (HMMR) promotes HA uptake, and related time to biochemical failure in Gleason score 7 tumor (Rizzardi et al., 2014). Overexpression of CENPU is related to breast cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer. Upregulated CENPU can increase the invasiveness of PCa cells (Winter et al., 2017).

In this study, we identified CKS2, TK1, MKI67, TOP2A, CCNB1 and RRM2 as crucial components in the diagnosis and treatment of PCa. They acted together in the same pathway to induce prostate cancer. The research of the correlation between molecules in cell cycle, DNA replication, GNRH signaling pathway, P53_signaling pathway could reveal the underlying causes of cancer and provide novel ideas for research into target drugs. Meanwhile, the expression difference of CDCA8, ANLN, CDCA5, ECT2, HMMR and CENPU were significantly which needed in-deep study.

Conclusion

This study excavated the core genes of prostate cancer, analyzed their functions, pathways, and their phenotype by means of reliable bioinformatics analysis of multiple datasets. The core genes in this study were considered to be potential targets and biomarkers, providing new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. More experimental studies are needed, however, to verify the mechanisms of these genes in prostate cancer.