Related Experiment Video For Muscle invasive bladder cancer
Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Author Spotlight: Unveiling Transmembrane Protein Family-Related Markers in Gastric Cancer and Implications for Targeted Therapies
Published on: September 15, 2023
Identification of ECM and EMT relevant genes involved in the progression of bladder cancer through bioinformatics
Kai Cao1, Honglei Shi2,3, Bin Wu2,3
1Department of Urology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Clinical College of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Nanjing 210008, Jiangsu, China.
Background:
Bladder cancer (BC) is very common among cancers of urinary system. It was usually categorized into two types: non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). NMIBC and MIBC groupings are heterogeneous and have different characteristics.
Objectives:
The study was aimed to find some hub genes and related signal pathways which might be engaged in the progression of BC and to investigate the relationship with clinical stages and its prognostic significance.
Methods:
GSE37317 datasets were acquired from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. GEO2R on-line tool was selected to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of the two different types of BC. Then, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and KOBAS-Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis of these DEGs were conducted. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was employed to help us screen hub genes and find significant modules. Finally, we made analysis of gene expression and survival curve by GEPIA and Kaplan-Meier plotter database.
Results:
224 DEGs were screened in total, with 110 showing increased expression and 114 demonstrating decreased expression. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were mostly involved in collagen fibril organization, extracellular matrix (ECM) structural constituent, bHLH transcription factor binding, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway and TGF-beta signaling pathway. Only 3 hub genes (DCN, JUN, THBS1) displayed significantly higher expression compared to those in the healthy controls. These hub genes were also strongly related to clinical stages as well as overall survival (OS) of BC patients.
Conclusions:
Taken together, most of hub genes involved in the progression of BC were related to ECM and EMT. In addition, 3 hub genes (DCN, JUN, THBS1) were strongly related with clinical stages and OS of BC patients. This study can enhance our comprehension of the progression of NMIBC and identify novel potential targets for MIBC.
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