Abstract:Objective: To explore the mechanisms of colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis and find the potential biomarkers associated with metastasis and prognosis by analyzing the gene profiles with bioinformatics analysis. Methods: The gene profiles of GSE41568, GSE68468 were selected from the GEO database; R software with the limma package was used to analyze the data and screen the differentially expressed genes between primary tumors and metastatic tumors, and we got the common differentially expressed genes. ClusterProfiler package was used for the biological function enrichment analysis and visualization; STRING database and Cytoscape software were used to construct protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and identify the key modules; TCGA database was applied for the expression analysis and survival analysis of common differentially expressed genes. Results: We identified 108 common differentially expressed genes between primary tumors and metastatic tumors. Enrichment analysis indicated that the genes were enriched in complement and coagulation cascades pathways and biological processes, et al. We also found 3 key modules by PPI network analysis. The analysis of common differentially expressed genes based on TCGA data showed that there were significant differences in the expression of CLCA1, COLEC11, FCGBP, PDZD2, SERPINA1, and SPINK4 between the stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ and Ⅲ-Ⅳ of CRC (P<0.05) , with significant correlation with the prognosis of CRC (P<0.05). Conclusion: With bioinformatics analysis, a total of 108 common differentially expressed genes, 3 key modules and 6 genes associated with prognosis have been screened out, thereby providing the theoretical support for research on mechanisms of metastasis, prognosis prediction and targeted therapies of CRC.
