• Integrated systems biology and bioinformatics analyses of gene expression profile in pancreatic adenocarcinoma-related signaling pathways
  • Maedeh Sadat Taherian Ghafarrokhi,1,* Mohammad Rezaei,2 Mansoureh Azadeh,3
    1. Zist Fanavari Novin biotechnology Institute
    2. Zist Fanavari Novin biotechnology Institute
    3. Zist Fanavari Novin biotechnology Institute


  • Introduction: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) which is often associated with a poor prognosis is one of the most lethal diseases[1]. Over the last decade, The massive amounts of data and technology generated by Biological scientists and their analysis and interpretation cause Steadily, traditional approaches to laboratory work are changing towards the age of bioinformatics. [2]
  • Methods: At first, gene expression data of PAAD patients (GSE130221) were collected from NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO) database and analyzed by the GEO2R database to find differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Then GEPIA2[3] and ENCORI [4] databases were used to check and strengthen the possibility of a correlation between the found gene and pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Next, from Enrich[5] and Reactome[6] databases to check pathways and ontologies, and from string[7] – miRWalk[8] - lncRRisearch[9] - lncbase .v3[10] databases to find significant interactions between protein-protein, mRNA-miRNA in the 3’UTR region, LncRNA- mRNA, lncRNA-miRNA, and ceRNA were used.
  • Results: By analyzing the GEO database data, a gene called FAM83A was found whose expression was significantly increased and upregulated in the PAAD sample. ( Log FC = 7.21 , adj.P.Val = 7.64E-4 ) . The product of this gene is a protein of 434 amino acids with the same name, which functions in the epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR )signaling pathway. Activates both RAS/MAPK and PI3K/AKT/TOR signaling cascades downstream of EGFR. Required for the RAS/MAPK signaling cascade activation upon EGFR stimulation, it also activates both signaling cascades independently of EGFR activation In this way, it can lead to the induction of cancer in the pancreas( unirpot database) [11]. Analysis of possible miRNA-mRNA interactions revealed hsa-miR-939-5p as a significant factor for fam83a gene mRNA. Then this miRNA was searched in the LncBase v.3 databases and finally lncRNAs AATBC, DBET, LINC02554, H19 had the most and best interactions.
  • Conclusion: In conclusion, FAM83A is overexpressed in PAAD and forms a possible ceRNA network among hsa-miR-939-5p, AATBC, DBET, LINC02554, AND H19.
  • Keywords: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma, FAM83A , Cancer , CeRNA , Bioinformatics