Identification of key genes and pathways in meningioma by bioinformatics analysis

Meningioma is the most frequently occurring type of brain tumor. The present study aimed to conduct a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of key genes and relevant pathways involved in meningioma, and acquire further insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms. Initially, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in 47 meningioma samples as compared with 4 normal meninges were identified. Subsequently, these DEGs were subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. In addition, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of the identified DEGs was constructed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes and visualized using Cytoscape. In total, 1,683 DEGs were identified, including 66 upregulated and 1,617 downregulated genes. The GO analysis results revealed that the DEGs were significantly associated with the ‘protein binding’, ‘cytoplasm’, ‘extracellular matrix (ECM) organization’ and ‘cell adhesion’ terms. The KEGG analysis results demonstrated the significant pathways included ‘AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications’, ‘PI3K-Akt signaling pathway’, ‘ECM-receptor interaction’ and ‘cell adhesion molecules’. The top five hub genes obtained from the PPI network were JUN, PIK3R1, FOS, AGT and MYC, and the most enriched KEGG pathways associated with the four obtained modules were ‘chemokine signaling pathway’, ‘cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction’, ‘allograft rejection’, and ‘complement and coagulation cascades’. In conclusion, bioinformatics analysis identified a number of potential biomarkers and relevant pathways that may represent key mechanisms involved in the development and progression of meningioma. However, these findings require verification in future experimental studies.