Expanding the Disease Network of Glioblastoma Multiforme via Topological Analysis
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a grade IV glioma, is a challenging disease for patients and clinicians, with an extremely poor prognosis. These tumours manifest a high molecular heterogeneity, with limited therapeutic options for patients. Since GBM is a rare disease, sufficient statistically strong...
Main Authors: | , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/4/3075 |
Summary: | Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a grade IV glioma, is a challenging disease for patients and clinicians, with an extremely poor prognosis. These tumours manifest a high molecular heterogeneity, with limited therapeutic options for patients. Since GBM is a rare disease, sufficient statistically strong evidence is often not available to explore the roles of lesser-known GBM proteins. We present a network-based approach using centrality measures to explore some key, topologically strategic proteins for the analysis of GBM. Since network-based analyses are sensitive to changes in network topology, we analysed nine different GBM networks, and show that small but well-curated networks consistently highlight a set of proteins, indicating their likely involvement in the disease. We propose 18 novel candidates which, based on differential expression, mutation analysis, and survival analysis, indicate that they may play a role in GBM progression. These should be investigated further for their functional roles in GBM, their clinical prognostic relevance, and their potential as therapeutic targets. |
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ISSN: | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |