Key genes affecting the progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma identified by RNA-sequencing and bioinformatic analysis.

Background The present work was conducted to screen the potential biomarkers affecting nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) progression through RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), bioinformatic analysis and functional experiments. Materials and methods Six normal samples and five NPC clinical samples were collected for RNA-seq analysis. The expression levels in both groups were determined through student's t-test. We identified genes of P Results A total of 2024 DEGs were identified, among which, 1449 were down-regulated and 575 were up-regulated. The PPI was constructed, and the hub genes including Insulin Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF1), C-X-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 10 (CXCL10), Interleukin 13 (IL13), Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 (ICAM1), G Protein Subunit Gamma Transducin 1 (GNGT1), Matrix Metallopeptidase 1 (MMP1), Neurexin 1 (NRXN1) and Matrix Metallopeptidase 3 (MMP3) were obtained. The expression levels of CXCL10, IGF1, MMP3, MMP1, ICAM1, and IL-13 were significantly up-regulated in tumor tissues. High expression levels of CXCL10, MMP3 and ICAM1 predicted poor prognosis of NPC patients. CXCL10 silencing suppressed NPC cell proliferation and migration. Conclusions CXCL10 may serve as a potential key gene affecting NPC genesis and progression.