Screening for Metastatic Osteosarcoma Biomarkers with a DNA Microarray

Abstract


Objective: The aim of this study was to screen for possible biomarkers of metastatic osteosarcoma (OS) using aDNA microarray.
Methods: We downloaded the gene expression profile GSE49003 from Gene Expression Omnibusdatabase, which included 6 gene chips from metastatic and 6 from non-metastatic OS patients. The R packagewas used to screen and identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between metastatic and non-metastaticOS patients. Then we compared the expression of DEGs in the two groups and sub-grouped into up-regulatedand down-regulated, followed by functional enrichment analysis using the DAVID system. Subsequently, weconstructed an miRNA-DEG regulatory network with the help of WebGestalt software.
Results: A total of 323DEGs, including 134 up-regulated and 189 down-regulated, were screened out. The up-regulated DEGs wereenriched in 14 subcategories and most significantly in cytoskeleton organization, while the down-regulated DEGswere prevalent in 13 subcategories, especially wound healing. In addition, we identified two important miRNAs(miR-202 and miR-9) pivotal for OS metastasis, and their relevant genes, CALD1 and STX1A.
Conclusions:MiR-202 and miR-9 are potential key factors affecting the metastasis of OS and CALD1 and STX1A may bepossible targets beneficial for the treatment of metastatic OS. However, further experimental studies are neededto confirm our results.

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