Identification of differentially expressed genes and their associated pathways from arsenic exposure to urothelial carcinogenesis

Chronic exposure to arsenic has been recognized as a risk factor for Urothelial cancer of the bladder (UCB) and other carcinogenic conditions. Scientific studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between these two conditions, highlighting the significance of minimizing arsenic overexposure to reduce health risks. This study aims to employ microarray analysis to identify hub genes and explore the molecular pathways associated with long-term exposure to inorganic arsenic. The GEO2R tool is employed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. A total of 268 up-regulated genes and 173 down-regulated DEGs are identified. These DEGs are enriched in various pathways, including Focal adhesion, cellular senescence, ECM-receptor interaction, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Through a combination of MCODE and CytoHubba analyses, fifteen hub genes are selected based on their high degrees in the network. IRF7, MX1, and OAS1 are identified as the top three ranked candidate genes among these hub genes. These hub genes primarily involve the Interferon alpha/beta signaling and Cytokine Signaling in the Immune system pathways. The genes identified in this study offer preliminary insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying carcinogenesis. They represent candidate markers for future validation in independent cohorts and potential treatment targets for UCB.