Identification of key genes controlling breast cancer stem cell characteristics via stemness indices analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

With the gradual unveiling of tumour heterogeneity, cancer stem cells (CSCs) are now being considered the initial component of tumour initiation. However, the mechanisms of the growth and maintenance of breast cancer (BRCA) stem cells are still unknown.

Methods

To explore the crucial genes modulating BRCA stemness characteristics, we combined the gene expression value and mRNA expression-based stemness index (mRNAsi) of samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and the mRNAsi was corrected using the tumour purity (corrected mRNAsi). mRNAsi and corrected mRNAsi were analysed and showed a close relationship with BRCA clinical characteristics, including tumour depth, pathological staging and survival status. Next, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCN

SUBMITTER: Pei J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7014665 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature