• Investigating the interaction between the PTTG1 gene as a potential biomarker and its associated miRNA in prostate cancer through bioinformatics analysis
  • mehdi roshanian bakhsh,1,* abbas zabihi,2
    1. Nursing Deputy, Asadabad Faculty of Medical Sciences, Asadabad, Hamadan, Iran.
    2. Department of Biology, faculty of basic sciences, Islamic Azad University, rasht, Iran.


  • Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in men and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. According to GLOBOCAN 2018 estimates, 1,276,106 new cases of prostate cancer were reported globally in 2018, with a higher prevalence observed in developed countries. Bioinformatics analyses were conducted to identify genes differentially expressed during the carcinogenesis and progression of PCa.
  • Methods: The GSE38241 dataset was retrieved from GEO to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between 18 tumor and 18 healthy prostate tissue samples in a microarray experiment. GEO2R was used to compare PCa samples with noncancerous samples on DEGs. An adjusted P-value < 0.01 and log2 fold change > 2 were considered statistically significant. Gene functional classification was performed using DAVID database, while pathway analysis was conducted using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). miRDB was queried to identify microRNA targeting PTTG1, and miRWalk was used to investigate interactions between the selected miRNA and associated genes.
  • Results: A total of 74 DEGs were identified. DAVID analysis revealed that PTTG1 is involved in cell division. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that PTTG1 acts as a substrate for the anaphase-promoting complex (APC) and plays a crucial role in regulating the cell cycle, its overexpression has been associated with tumorigenic activity in vivo. inhibition of PTTG1 may therefore result in cell cycle arrest in prostate cancer cells. Our analysis also suggested that hsa-miR-17-5p may suppress PTTG1 expression, potentially leading to cell cycle arrest in PCa cells.
  • Conclusion: Based on bioinformatics analyses, PTTG1 may serve as a potential biomarker involved in cell cycle regulation in prostate cancer. hsa-miR-17-5p could be explored as a therapeutic approach to downregulate PTTG1 and inhibit tumor cell proliferation.
  • Keywords: prostate cancer, PTTG1, hsa-miR-17-5p, cell cycle regulation, bioinformatics