Roles of JUN and MMP1 in lung cancer brain metastases

Lung cancer brain metastases refer to intracranial space-occupying lesions formed by the metastasis of tumor cells from the lung to the brain parenchyma or dissemination in the meninges. The datasets GSE200563 and GSE126548 for lung cancer brain metastasis were obtained from gene expression omnibus database with the platform files GPL21697 and GPL16791. Differentially expressed genes analysis was conducted, followed by weighted gene co-expression network analysis, construction and analysis of protein-protein interaction networks, functional enrichment analysis, gene set enrichment analysis, comparative toxicogenomics database analysis. Five hundred differentially expressed genes were identified. According to gene ontology, they were mainly enriched in terms of fucosyltransferase activity, protein-DNA complex, cAMP signaling pathway, and transcriptional misregulation in cancer. Ten core genes (JUN, IL1A, VEGFA, MMP1, EDN1, SOCS3, NOD2, NCOR2, VDR, and HDAC2) were obtained. Comparative toxicogenomics database analysis revealed associations between core genes (JUN, IL1A, VEGFA, MMP1, EDN1, SOCS3, NOD2, NCOR2, VDR, and HDAC2) and tumor cell transformation, non-small cell carcinoma, lung neoplasms, tumor invasiveness, tumor metastasis, and inflammation. JUN and MMP1 are abnormally highly expressed in lung cancer brain metastasis tissues, which may be their molecular targets.