Omics data analysis reveals common molecular basis of small cell lung cancer and COVID-19

Abstract

The impact of COVID-19 infection on individuals with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) poses a serious threat. Unfortunately, the molecular basis of this severe comorbidity has yet to be elucidated. The present study addresses this gap utilizing publicly available omics data of COVID-19 and SCLC to explore the key molecules and associated pathways involved in the convergence of these diseases. Findings revealed 402 genes, that exhibited differential expression patterns in SCLC patients and also play a pivotal role in COVID-19 pathogenesis. Subsequent functional enrichment analyses identified relevant ontologies and pathways that are significantly associated with these genes, revealing important insights into their potential biological, molecular and cellular functions. The protein-protein interaction network, constructed under four combinatorial topological assessments, highlighted SMAD3, CAV1, PIK3R1, and FN1 as the primary components to this comorbidity. Our results suggest that these components significantly regulate this cross-talk triggering the PI3K-AKT and TGF-β signaling pathways. Lastly, this study made a multi-step computational attempt and identified corylifol A and ginkgetin from natural sources that can potentially inhibit these components. Therefore, the outcomes of this study offer novel perspectives on the common molecular mechanisms underlying SCLC and COVID-19 and present future opportunities for drug development.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Keywords:

• Small cell lung cancer
• COVID-19
• protein-protein interaction
• bioactive molecules
• omics data analysis

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Professor Md. Nazmul hasan and Mr. Partha Biswas from Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Jashore University of Science And Technology, Jashore 7408, Bangladesh for their technical assistance during the period of this study. The authors would also like to express their deepest gratitude to Professor Dr. Saraswati Sukumar from Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore and Dr. Alan Rein from National Cancer Institute, for their invaluable mentorship and intellectual assistance throughout the process of writing this manuscript. Their guidance and expertise have been instrumental in shaping the content and direction of this work.

Author contributions

AH conceptualized and supervised the study. KMSA and AH contributed to design the methodology. KMSA conducted experiments, performed the computational analyses, prepared the data and visuals and prepared the initial draft. AA critically reviewed the whole manuscript, guided in partial redesign and further contributed with necessary texts and graphics. All authors approved the final version before submission.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no competing interests and conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Research and Innovative Center, Khulna University (Grant ID: KU/RIC-04/2000-42)