95% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or good
Learn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish.
Find out more
ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Genet.
Sec. Cancer Genetics and Oncogenomics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1470584
Identification of Characteristic Genes in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma Based on Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis
Provisionally accepted- 1 The Affiliated Hospital of Jiujiang University, Jiujiang, China
- 2 College of Nursing, Jiujiang Vocational University, Jiujiang, Jiujiang, China
Objective: This study aims to identify characteristic genes associated with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). Methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and hub genes in key module were identified using the limma package and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) in R software, respectively. The intersection of these genes was then subjected to LASSO regression to pinpoint characteristic genes. The correlation between immune cell infiltration and these characteristic genes was further elucidated using single-sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis and Spearman correlation analysis. Results: A total of 113 DEGs were identified, along with their associated biological pathways. From this pool, five characteristic genes—ADH1B, CCL27, ID4, LRP4 and S100A9—were selected and validated. Immune infiltration analysis revealed significant correlations between these genes and various immune cell types, particularly with CCL27, ID4, LRP4 and S100A9. Conclusion: The identification of characteristic genes for cSCC provides valuable insights into its molecular mechanisms. The correlations between these genes and immune cell infiltration suggests their potential roles in tumor immunity. Keywords: Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma; Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis; Characteristic Genes.
Keywords: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, Weighted Gene Co -Expression Network Analysis, Characteristic genes, Immune microenvironment (IME), LASSO
Received: 06 Aug 2024; Accepted: 31 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xiao, Xu, Xu, Song and Mao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yousheng Mao, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiujiang University, Jiujiang, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.