• Identification of hub Genes and pathways in hepatitis C virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma
  • Mozhgan Ahmadzadeh,1,*
    1. Department of cellular and molecular biology, faculty of biological sciences, Kharazmi university , Tehran Iran.


  • Introduction: Hepatitis C is an infection caused by a virus that affects the liver and gets worse over time. It is one of the leading causes of liver cancer in other parts of the world.There is a very poor chance of diagnosing these diseases at an early stage. The objective of this study was to identify the genes and pathways involved in the development of this disease by using the biological system as a tool.
  • Methods: As part of this study, GSE29721 from the GEO site was examined. By normalizing the data using R software, we were able to identify DEGs with a p-value < 0.05 and a log ∣FC∣> 2.6. Using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) as well as the Gene Ontology (GO), pathways involved in the process of HCC cancer were identified. In order to identify hub genes with protein-protein interaction analysis (PPI), the software packages Cytoscap and Gephi were used. A GEPIA analysis was performed in order to confirm the biomarker and target genes.
  • Results: A total of 420 DEGs have been identified. Through the use of PPI, 94 hub genes were identified. By using enrichment analysis, it was demonstrated that these genes play a role in the development of HCC through cAMP signaling pathways, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis, ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and ErbB signaling pathways. Through GEPIA, AKR1D1 and CYP39A1 genes were identified as significant in tumor and non-tumor samples.
  • Conclusion: This study was conducted to identify the pathways involved in the development of HCC. As a result of identifying biomarkers, this disease can be detected at the earliest stages of the disease, and by identifying target genes, it is possible to increase the survival rate of HCC patients.
  • Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, HCV, PPI network, biomarker, target