AUTHOR=Tan Yejun , Kang Jin , Li Hongli , Zhong Aifang , Liu Yaqiong , Zhang Zheyu , Huang Roujie , Cheng Xin , Peng Weijun 

TITLE=Diabetes mellitus induces a novel inflammatory network involving cancer progression: Insights from bioinformatic analysis and in vitro validation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1149810

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2023.1149810

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have a higher incidence of malignant tumors than people without diabetes, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are still unclear.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>To investigate the link between DM and cancer, we screened publicly available databases for diabetes and cancer-related genes (DCRGs) and constructed a diabetes-based cancer-associated inflammation network (DCIN). We integrated seven DCRGs into the DCIN and analyzed their role in different tumors from various perspectives. We also investigated drug sensitivity and single-cell sequencing data in colon adenocarcinoma as an example. In addition, we performed <italic>in vitro</italic> experiments to verify the expression of DCRGs and the arachidonic acid metabolic pathway.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Seven identified DCRGs, including <italic>PPARG</italic>, <italic>MMP9</italic>, <italic>CTNNB1</italic>, <italic>TNF</italic>, <italic>TGFB1</italic>, <italic>PTGS2</italic>, and <italic>HIF1A</italic>, were integrated to construct a DCIN. The bioinformatics analysis showed that the expression of the seven DCRGs in different tumors was significantly different, which had varied effects on diverse perspectives. Single-cell sequencing analyzed in colon cancer showed that the activity of the DCRGs was highest in Macrophage and the lowest in B cells among all cell types in adenoma and carcinoma tissue. <italic>In vitro</italic> experiments showed that the DCRGs verified by western bolt and <italic>PEG2</italic> verified by ELISA were all highly expressed in COAD epithelial cells stimulated by high glucose.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>This study, for the first time, constructed a DCIN, which provides novel insights into the underlying mechanism of how DM increases tumor occurrence and development. Although further research is required, our results offer clues for new potential therapeutic strategies to prevent and treat malignant tumors.</p></sec>