Molecular profiling reveals potential targets in cholangiocarcinoma

Figure 1 Cholangiocarcinogenesis driven by cell cycle and Notch associated pathways. A: Rank-based gene set enrichment analysis of genes preferentially activated in tumors identified the tumorigenic pathways, cell cycle and Notch from Hallmark gene sets, in CHOL transcriptome from TCGA database. Upper: Cell cycle associated pathways, including G2M checkpoint, E2F Targets, and Mitotic spindle gene sets; Lower: Notch associated pathways, including epithelial mesenchymal transition, Hedgehog, and apical junction gene sets. The mRNA expression levels from the leading edges of cell cycle (B) and Notch (C) associated pathways were analyzed in human normal bile ducts (n = 9) and CCA samples (n = 35) using TCGA database, suggesting up-regulation of cell cycle and Notch associated genes in CCA samples. TPM: Transcripts per kilobase million; Red: Cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA/eCCA), Blue: Normal bile ducts and/or para-cancerous liver; EMT: Rpithelial mesenchymal transition. ^cP < 0.001 when compared with the normal control.