Background. Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a common endocrine malignant neoplasm, and its incidence increases continuously worldwide in the recent years. However, efficient clinical biomarkers were still deficient; the present research is aimed at exploring significant core genes of PTC. Methods. We integrated three cohorts to identify hub genes and pathways associated with PTC by comprehensive bioinformatics analysis. Expression profiles GSE33630, GSE35570, and GSE60542, including 114 PTC tissues and 126 normal tissues, were enrolled in this research. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were utilized to search for the crucial biological behaviors and pathways involved in PTC carcinogenesis. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, and significant modules were deeply studied. Results. A total of 831 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were discovered, comprising 410 upregulated and 421 downregulated genes in PTC tissues compared to normal thyroid tissues. PPI network analysis demonstrated the interactions between those DEGs, and top 10 pivotal genes (TGFB1, CXCL8, LRRK2, CD44, CCND1, JUN, DCN, BCL2, ACACB, and CXCL12) with highest degree of connectivity were extracted from the network and verified by TCGA dataset and RT-PCR experiment of PTC samples. Four of the hub genes (CXCL8, DCN, BCL2, and ACACB) were linked to the prognosis of PTC patients and considered as clinically relevant core genes via survival analysis. Conclusion. In conclusion, we propose a series of key genes associated with PTC development and these genes could serve as the diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets in the future treatment for PTC.

中文翻译：

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通过生物信息学分析鉴定和验证参与甲状腺乳头状癌发展的核心基因。

背景。甲状腺乳头状癌（PTC）是一种常见的内分泌恶性肿瘤，近年来其发病率在全球范围内不断增加。然而，有效的临床生物标志物仍然缺乏；本研究旨在探索PTC的重要核心基因。方法. 我们整合了三个队列，通过全面的生物信息学分析来识别与 PTC 相关的中心基因和途径。本研究纳入了表达谱 GSE33630、GSE35570 和 GSE60542，包括 114 个 PTC 组织和 126 个正常组织。基因本体论 (GO) 和京都基因和基因组百科全书 (KEGG) 通路富集分析被用来寻找参与 PTC 致癌作用的关键生物学行为和通路。构建蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用（PPI）网络，深入研究重要模块。结果. 与正常甲状腺组织相比，PTC 组织共发现了 831 个差异表达基因 (DEG)，其中包括 410 个上调基因和 421 个下调基因。PPI网络分析证明了这些DEG之间的相互作用，从网络中提取了连接度最高的前10个关键基因（ TGFB1、CXCL8、LRRK2、CD44、CCND1、JUN、DCN、BCL2、ACACB和CXCL12 ），并通过验证PTC样本的TCGA数据集和RT-PCR实验。四个中枢基因（CXCL8、DCN、BCL2, 和ACACB ) 与 PTC 患者的预后有关，并通过生存分析被认为是临床相关的核心基因。结论。总之，我们提出了一系列与PTC发展相关的关键基因，这些基因可以作为未来PTC治疗的诊断生物标志物或治疗靶点。