Meng FD, Jia SM, Ma YB, Du YH, Liu WJ, Yang Y, Yuan L, Nan Y. Identification of key hub genes associated with anti-gastric cancer effects of lotus plumule based on machine learning algorithms. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2025; 17(4): 103048 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i4.103048]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yi Nan, Traditional Chinese Medicine College, Ningxia Medical University, No.1160 Shengli Street, Xingqing District, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. 20080011@nxmu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Basic Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Apr 15, 2025; 17(4): 103048 Published online Apr 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i4.103048
Identification of key hub genes associated with anti-gastric cancer effects of lotus plumule based on machine learning algorithms
Fan-Di Meng, Shu-Min Jia, Yu-Bin Ma, Yu-Hua Du, Wen-Jing Liu, Yi Yang, Ling Yuan, Yi Nan
Fan-Di Meng, Shu-Min Jia, Yu-Bin Ma, Yi Nan, Traditional Chinese Medicine College, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
Yu-Hua Du, Yi Yang, Ling Yuan, College of Pharmacy, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
Wen-Jing Liu, Key Laboratory of Hui Ethnic Medicine Modernization of Ministry of Education, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
Co-corresponding authors: Ling Yuan and Yi Nan.
Author contributions: Meng FD, Yuan L, and Nan Y designed the study; Meng FD, Jia SM, Ma YB, and Du YH collected the data; Liu WJ, Yang Y, Yuan L, and Nan Y conducted data visualization; Meng FD, Ma YB, Liu WJ, and Yuan L analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; Yuan L and Nan Y provided funding, and they contributed equally to this work as co-corresponding authors.
Supported by Ningxia Key Research and Development Program, No. 2023BEG02015; and Talent Development Projects of Young Qihuang of National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2020).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yi Nan, Traditional Chinese Medicine College, Ningxia Medical University, No.1160 Shengli Street, Xingqing District, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. 20080011@nxmu.edu.cn
Received: November 7, 2024 Revised: December 11, 2024 Accepted: January 16, 2025 Published online: April 15, 2025 Processing time: 139 Days and 10 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Lotus plumule and its active components have demonstrated inhibitory effects on gastric cancer (GC). However, the molecular mechanism of lotus plumule against GC remains unclear and requires further investigation.
AIM
To identify the key hub genes associated with the anti-GC effects of lotus plumule.
METHODS
This study investigated the potential targets of traditional Chinese medicine for inhibiting GC using weighted gene co-expression network analysis and bioinformatics. Initially, the active components and targets of the lotus plumule and the differentially expressed genes associated with GC were identified. Subsequently, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed to elucidate the interactions between drug targets and disease-related genes, facilitating the identification of hub genes within the network. The clinical significance of these hub genes was evaluated, and their upstream transcription factors and downstream targets were identified. The binding ability of a hub gene with its downstream targets was verified using molecular docking technology. Finally, molecular docking was performed to evaluate the binding affinity between the active ingredients of lotus plumule and the hub gene.
RESULTS
This study identified 26 genes closely associated with GC. Machine learning analysis and external validation narrowed the list to four genes: Aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10, fructose-bisphosphatase 1, protein arginine methyltransferase 1, and carbonic anhydrase 9. These genes indicated a strong correlation with anti-GC activity.
CONCLUSION
Lotus plumule exhibits anti-GC effects. This study identified four hub genes with potential as novel targets for diagnosing and treating GC, providing innovative perspectives for its clinical management.
Core Tip: Lotus plumule exhibits promising efficacy in the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer. This extensive study has identified four pivotal hub genes associated with the anti-gastric cancer effects of lotus plumule and elucidated the upstream and downstream targets of one of these genes, which possess significant potential as novel therapeutic and diagnostic targets for gastric cancer. These findings offer groundbreaking and innovative insights into the clinical management of gastric cancer, potentially enhancing its treatment and facilitating early detection.
