Open Access

Aging‑associated genes TNFRSF12A and CHI3L1 contribute to thyroid cancer: An evidence for the involvement of hypoxia as a driver

  • Authors:
    • Meng Lian
    • Hongbao Cao
    • Ancha Baranova
    • Kamil Can Kural
    • Lizhen Hou
    • Shizhi He
    • Qing Shao
    • Jugao Fang
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: April 10, 2020     https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11530
  • Pages: 3634-3642
  • Copyright: © Lian et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The prevalence of thyroid cancer (TC) is high in the elderly. The present study was based on the hypothesis that genes, which have increased activity with aging, may play a role in the development of TC. A large‑scale literature‑based data analysis was conducted to explore the genes that are implicated in both TC and aging. Subsequently, a mega‑analysis of 16 RNA expression datasets (1,222 samples: 439 healthy controls, and 783 patients with TC) was conducted to test a set of genes associated with aging but not TC. To uncover a possible link between these genes and TC, a functional pathway analysis was conducted, and the results were validated by analysis of gene co‑expression. A multiple linear regression (MLR) model was employed to study the possible influence of sample size, population region and study age on the gene expression levels in TC. A total of 262 and 816 genes were identified to have increased activity with aging and TC, respectively; with a significant overlap of 63 genes (P<3.82x10‑35). The mega‑analysis revealed two aging‑associated genes (CHI3L1 and TNFRSF12A) to be significantly associated with TC (P<2.05x10‑8), and identified the association with multiple hypoxia‑driven pathways through functional pathway analysis, also confirmed by the co‑expression analysis. The MLR analysis identified population region as a significant factor contributing to the expression levels of CHI3L1 and TNFRSF12A in TC samples (P<3.24x10‑4). The determination of genes that promote aging was warranted due to their possible involvement in TC. The present study suggests CHI3L1 and TNFRSF12A as novel common risk genes associated with both aging and TC.
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June-2020
Volume 19 Issue 6

Print ISSN: 1792-1074
Online ISSN:1792-1082

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Spandidos Publications style
Lian M, Cao H, Baranova A, Kural KC, Hou L, He S, Shao Q and Fang J: Aging‑associated genes TNFRSF12A and CHI3L1 contribute to thyroid cancer: An evidence for the involvement of hypoxia as a driver. Oncol Lett 19: 3634-3642, 2020
APA
Lian, M., Cao, H., Baranova, A., Kural, K.C., Hou, L., He, S. ... Fang, J. (2020). Aging‑associated genes TNFRSF12A and CHI3L1 contribute to thyroid cancer: An evidence for the involvement of hypoxia as a driver. Oncology Letters, 19, 3634-3642. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11530
MLA
Lian, M., Cao, H., Baranova, A., Kural, K. C., Hou, L., He, S., Shao, Q., Fang, J."Aging‑associated genes TNFRSF12A and CHI3L1 contribute to thyroid cancer: An evidence for the involvement of hypoxia as a driver". Oncology Letters 19.6 (2020): 3634-3642.
Chicago
Lian, M., Cao, H., Baranova, A., Kural, K. C., Hou, L., He, S., Shao, Q., Fang, J."Aging‑associated genes TNFRSF12A and CHI3L1 contribute to thyroid cancer: An evidence for the involvement of hypoxia as a driver". Oncology Letters 19, no. 6 (2020): 3634-3642. https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2020.11530