Investigating the Hub Genes of Lactic Acid Bacterial Peptides and their association with Anti-Cancer Role

Abstract

As there is no cure for cancer, hence it becomes one of the top causes of mortality worldwide. Bacterial peptide obtained from probiotic species possesses anti-cancer and anti-bacterial activity and shows specificity towards the prominent target of cancer cells. To find such peptides with anti-cancer activity, a thorough literature review was conducted. Major 9 peptides have been selected as a promising candidate, and their interactions with 9840 possible target genes were retrieved using the STITCH database and the STRING 11.0b database, respectively. In the Cytoscape software version 3.8.2 network analysis, 2465 nodes and 10871 edges were found. Cytoscape version 3.8.1 was used to build, visualize and analyze target-disease and target-pathway networks for anti-cancer peptides to advance current understanding. There were 3127 nodes identified as disease-associated. In total, 271 nodes and 318 edges were discovered, along with 27 distinct genes linked to 243 distinct pathways. The hub genes were found by centrality analysis to comprehend how peptides and highly significant genes interact. Thus, six key hub genes for the peptides—GRB2, APP, COPS5, CDK1, RPS3, and XRCC6—were identified based on topological criteria such as MCC, degree, closeness, betweenness, and radiality. Major genes were discovered to be linked to Neoplasm Metastasis, Neoplasms, Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma, and Primary Malignant Neoplasm among the 57 genes. The expression of the disease-related genes and their regulation of the molecular mechanisms causing the disease, together with their transcription factors, have been identified.