Identifying Porphyromonas gingivalis-infected hub genes and molecular mechanisms of oral squamous cell carcinoma pathogenesis

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), an uncommon form of head and neck cancer (HNC), poses a major hazard to human health with > 500,000 annual reports of new incidents and will account for 1.8% of total cancer-related deaths globally in 2022. The aim of the current investigation was to elucidate Porphyromonas gingivalis- infected hub genes and molecular mechanisms of OSCC pathogenesis using advanced computational genomics tools. Gene expression data were retrieved from GEO database, and subsequently differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were selected by GEO2R analysis. The DEGs for GSE30784 and GSE19287 were 6117 and 1312, respectively. A total of 383 Common DEGs were obtained. GO analysis of the DEGs shows that "cell migration, extracellular space, protein binding, TNF signaling pathway and IL6" possess the highest enrichment in the "Biological Process, Cytological Component, Molecular Function, and KEEG," respectively. Pathway analysis reveals that DEGs are involved in the development of cancer through the TNF signalling pathway and the IL-6 receptor. The top 10 hub genes analyzed via Cytoscape were MYC, JUN, PLEC, OCLN, RHOB, FOS, CCDC8, OBSL1, OASL, and IL6. A survival analysis of hub genes revealed that patients with OSCC had significantly lower 5-year overall survival rates due to low MYC and high FOS expression. Potential top 10 potential drug molecules were predicted. The correlation between the advancement of cancer and the presence of bacterial species highlights the potential influence of this association. Unfortunately, there wasn't appropriate experimental data to support the synergistic result. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying OSCC and identifies potential therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers.