Identifying Differentially Expressed Genes and Small Molecule Drugs for Prostate Cancer by a Bioinformatics Strategy

Purpose: Prostate cancer caused by the abnormal disorderly growth of prostatic acinar cells is the mostprevalent cancer of men in western countries. We aimed to screen out differentially expressed genes (DEGs) andexplore small molecule drugs for prostate cancer. Materials and
Methods: The GSE3824 gene expression profileof prostate cancer was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database which including 21 normal samplesand 18 prostate cancer cells. The DEGs were identified by Limma package in R language and gene ontology andpathway enrichment analyses were performed. In addition, potential regulatory microRNAs and the target sitesof the transcription factors were screened out based on the molecular signature database. In addition, the DEGswere mapped to the connectivity map database to identify potential small molecule drugs.
Results: A total of 6,588genes were filtered as DEGs between normal and prostate cancer samples. Examples such as ITGB6, ITGB3,ITGAV and ITGA2 may induce prostate cancer through actions on the focal adhesion pathway. Furthermore,the transcription factor, SP1, and its target genes ARHGAP26 and USF1 were identified. The most significantmicroRNA, MIR-506, was screened and found to regulate genes including ITGB1 and ITGB3. Additionally, smallmolecules MS-275, 8-azaguanine and pyrvinium were discovered to have the potential to repair the disorderedmetabolic pathways, abd furthermore to remedy prostate cancer.
Conclusions: The results of our analysis bearon the mechanism of prostate cancer and allow screening for small molecular drugs for this cancer. The findingshave the potential for future use in the clinic for treatment of prostate cancer.