Construction and prognostic analysis of miRNA-mRNA regulatory network in liver metastasis from colorectal cancer

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers in the world, and liver metastasis is the leading cause of colorectal cancer-related deaths. However, the mechanism of liver metastasis in CRC has not been clearly elucidated. Methods Three datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were analyzed to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which were subjected to functional enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction analysis. Subsequently, mRNA-miRNA network was constructed, and the associated DEGs and DEMs were performed for prognostic analysis. Finally, we did infiltration analysis of growth arrest specific 1 (GAS1)-associated immune cells. Results We obtained 325 DEGs and 9 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) between primary CRC and liver metastases. Enrichment analysis and protein-protein interactions (PPI) further revealed the involvement of DEGs in the formation of the inflammatory microenvironment and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during the liver metastases process in CRC. Survival analysis demonstrated that low-expressed GAS1 as well as low-expressed hsa-miR-33b-5p was a favorable prognostic indicator of overall survival. Further exploration of GAS1 revealed that its expression was interrelated with the infiltration of immune cells in tumor tissues. Conclusions In summary, DEGs, DEMs, and their interactions found in liver metastasis of CRC may provide a basis for further understanding of the mechanism of CRC metastasis.

Automated summary

The study identified key genes and miRNAs involved in liver metastasis of CRC through analysis of gene expression databases, revealing their roles in inflammatory microenvironment and EMT formation. Low expression of GAS1 and hsa-miR-33b-5p were associated with overall survival in CRC patients, with GAS1 also being linked to immune cell infiltration in tumors.