Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide, which after breast, lung and,
prostate cancers, is the fourth prevalent cancer in the United States. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)
have an essential role in the pathogenesis of CRC. Therefore, bioinformatics studies on lncRNAs
and their target genes have potential importance as novel biomarkers. In the current study, publicly
available microarray gene expression data of colorectal cancer (GSE106582) was analyzed with the
Limma, Geoquery, Biobase package. Afterward, identified differentially expressed lncRNAs and their
target genes were inserted into Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) to obtain modules
and hub genes. A total of nine differentially expressed lncRNAs (LINC01018, ITCH-IT, ITPK1-AS1,
FOXP1-IT1, FAM238B, PAXIP1-AS1, ATP2B1-AS1, MIR29B2CHG, and SNHG32) were identified
using microarray data analysis. The WGCNA has identified several hub genes for black (LMOD3,
CDKN2AIPNL, EXO5, ZNF69, BMS1P5, METTL21A, IL17RD, MIGA1, CEP19, FKBP14), blue (CLCA1,
GUCA2A, UGT2B17, DSC2, CA1, AQP8, ITLN1, BEST4, KLF4, IQCF6) and turquoise (PAFAH1B1,
LMNB1, CACYBP, GLO1, PUM3, POC1A, ASF1B, SDCCAG3, ASNS, PDCD2L) modules. The findings
of the current study will help to improve our understanding of CRC. Moreover, the hub genes that we
have identified could be considered as possible prognostic/diagnostic biomarkers. This study led to the
determination of nine lncRNAs with no previous association with CRC development.
