ITGAX: A Potential Biomarker of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) through Bioinformatic Analysis

Abstract

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) constitutes nearly eighty percent of total adult leukemias, which also is almost all common origin cause of leukemia death. Consequently, Understanding the molecular mechanisms of AML and identifying potential biomarkers are significant for clinical treatment. To identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), microarray datasets GSE114868, GSE67936 and GSE65409 were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Function enrichment analysis was performed and protein-protein interaction network (PPI) was constructed.62 DEGs were identified, made up of 15 downregulated genes and 47 upregulated genes. The module analysis was performed using STRING and Cytoscape. The enriched functions and pathways of the DEGs include leukocyte degranulation, cytokine production, Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation, chromatin remodeling at centromere, somatic diversification of immune receptors and Renin-angiotensin system. Ten hub genes were identified through degrees calculated by CytoHubba and KEGG analysis indicated that hub genes were particularly enriched in Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation, Natural killer cell mediated cytotoxicity and Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. Supplementary analysis showed that only ITGAX gene had a big potential as higher expression and considerably worse survival in AML compared with normal. In a word, our study drew a conclusion that ITGAX could be a potential prognostic factor and beneficial target for AML therapy. And we should do further experimentations to verify the result.