Exploration of the hub genes and miRNAs in lung adenocarcinoma

In order to investigate the oncogenic mechanisms of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), hub genes can be identified by constructing co-expression networks, and the potential linkages between hub genes, transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) can be visualized and identified. In the present study, a total of 12 co-expressed modules were constructed, and 9 of these were significantly correlated with clinical traits in LUAD. The differentially expressed genes and differentially expressed miRNAs were determined, and the targets of differentially expressed miRNA were identified from the hub genes or TFs. The results of the present study demonstrated that 10 hub genes and 12 TFs are the predicted targets for the 5 and 8 differentially expressed miRNAs, respectively. Genes in pink and red modules, which have a high correlation with the clinical trait of days to death, are significantly enriched in ‘nucleosome assembly’ and ‘microtubule-based process’, respectively. These results indicated that miR-206, miR-137, miR-153, hub genes and enriched TFs in the pink and red modules exert a potentially pivotal function in the development of LUAD.