Screening Key Pathogenic Genes and Small Molecule Compounds for PNET

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET) are rare malignant tumors, but the mortality rate of the patients is extremely high. The aim of this study was to identify the hub genes and pathways involved in the pathogenesis of PNET and to screen the potential small molecule drugs for PNET. We extracted gene expression profiles from the Gene Expression Omnibus database and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) through Limma package in R. Two expression profiles (GSE14295 and GSE74195) were downloaded, including 33 and 5 cases separately. Four hundred sixty-eight DEGs (161 upregulated; 307 downregulated) were identified. Functional annotation and KEGG pathway enrichment of the DEGs were performed using DAVID and Kobas. Gene Ontology analysis showed the significantly enriched Gene Ontology terms included but not limited to mitosis, nuclear division, cytoskeleton, synaptic vesicle, syntaxin binding, and GABA A receptor activity. Cancer-related signaling pathways, such as DNA replication, cell cycle, and synaptic vesicle cycle, were found to be associated with these genes. Subsequently, the STRING database and Cytoscape were utilized to construct a protein-protein interaction and screen the hub genes, and we identified 5 hub genes (including CCNB1, CDC20, KIF11, KIF2C, and MAD2L1) as the key biomarkers for PNET. Finally, we identified potential small molecule drugs through CMap. Seven small molecule compounds, including trichostatin A, luteolin, repaglinide, clomipramine, lorglumide, vorinostat, and resveratrol may become potential candidates for PNET drugs.