The involvement of ribonucleoproteins in promoting epithelial ovarian cancer through a systems biology approach

Background

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), originating from the ovarian epithelial cells, represents approximately 90% of all ovarian cancer cases and includes several subtypes.

Aim

This study investigates the role of hub ribonucleoprotein genes in EOC progression.

Methods

Microarray datasets GSE28799 and GSE54388 from GEO were analyzed using Transcriptome Analysis Console (TAC) software for differential expression (p ≤ 0.05, LogFC ≥4). Upregulated RNP genes, including FBL and HNRNPC, were identified. Protein–protein interactions were analyzed using STRING and visualized in Cytoscape. Clustering was performed with Gephi software. Gene expression and alterations were validated using the HPA and cBioPortal databases.

Results

FBL and HNRNPC were significantly upregulated in EOC, playing key roles in tumor progression. Network analysis showed close interactions within the same gene cluster. Pathway enrichment linked them to spliceosome and ribosome biogenesis, affecting gene regulation and cellular function. Samples with FBL and HNRNPC deletions showed lower mRNA expression. Survival analysis indicated that their upregulation negatively affects patient survival, suggesting that disrupting these genes could slow cancer progression.

Conclusion

This study highlights the crucial role of FBL and HNRNPC in EOC. These genes are significantly upregulated and actively contribute to key cellular processes like spliceosome function and ribosome biogenesis, which help sustain tumor growth. Through network and pathway analyses, researchers have uncovered their strong functional connection, further emphasizing their importance in cancer biology. Notably, higher expression levels of these genes are linked to poorer patient survival. Targeting and disrupting their expression may provide new strategies to slow tumor progression and improve patient outcomes.