Co-Expression Network Analysis Identified Genes Associated with Cancer Stem Cell Characteristics in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma

<b>Objective:</b> Cancer stem cells are self-renewal cells in tumors and can produce heterogeneous tumor cells, which play an important role in the development of lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). In our research, we aimed to explore the expression of genes related to LSCC stem cells. <b>Methods:</b> We downloaded the RNAseq data, the pathological and prognostic profiles of LSCC cases from the public database TCGA. The mRNA expression-based stiffness index (mRNAsi) of LSCC was calculated and the prognostic value of mRNAsi was discussed. Then, we constructed a weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to screen key genes related to mRNAsi of LSCC. <b>Results:</b> MRNAsi is an independent prognostic factor in LSCC. We screened 5 key genes (BUB1, BIRC5, CCNB2, KIF15 and SPAG5) related to mRNAsi of LSCC based on WGCNA. The key genes were highly expressed in the tumor samples compared to the normal samples. In addition, there is a strong interaction between proteins of these key genes and a strong co-expression relationship at the transcriptional level. <b>Conclusions:</b> To conclude, mRNAsi play an important role in LSCC. Five key genes (BUB1, BIRC5, CCNB2, KIF15 and SPAG5) related to mRNAsi were screened, which may act as therapeutic targets for inhibiting the stem cell characteristics of LSCC.

**研究目的**：癌症干细胞是肿瘤中的自我更新细胞，可产生异质性肿瘤细胞，在肺鳞状细胞癌（lung squamous cell carcinoma，LSCC）的发生发展中发挥重要作用。本研究旨在探索与肺鳞状细胞癌干细胞相关的基因表达情况。
**研究方法**：我们从公共数据库癌症基因组图谱（TCGA）中下载了肺鳞状细胞癌病例的RNA测序（RNAseq）数据、病理及预后资料。计算了肺鳞状细胞癌基于mRNA表达的硬度指数（mRNAsi），并探讨了mRNAsi的预后价值。随后，我们构建加权基因共表达网络分析（WGCNA）以筛选与肺鳞状细胞癌mRNAsi相关的关键基因。
**研究结果**：mRNAsi是肺鳞状细胞癌的独立预后因素。我们基于WGCNA筛选出5个与肺鳞状细胞癌mRNAsi相关的关键基因：BUB1、BIRC5、CCNB2、KIF15及SPAG5。与正常样本相比，这些关键基因在肿瘤样本中呈高表达。此外，这些关键基因编码的蛋白质间存在较强的相互作用，且在转录水平上具有显著的共表达关系。
**研究结论**：综上，mRNAsi在肺鳞状细胞癌的发生发展中发挥重要作用。我们筛选出的5个与mRNAsi相关的关键基因，有望作为抑制肺鳞状细胞癌干细胞特性的治疗靶点。