Investigating Pathogenic and Hepatocarcinogenic Mechanisms from Normal Liver to HCC by Constructing Genetic and Epigenetic Networks via Big Genetic and Epigenetic Data Mining and Genome-Wide NGS Data Identification

Figure 2

Signaling pathways for investigating cellular mechanisms of progression for pathogenesis from NAFLD&NASH to HCC. The blue dash-dotted lines and the yellow dotted lines represent the specific edges of the real GENs, including PPINs and GRNs, in NAFLD&NASH and HCC, respectively; the green solid lines denote the common edges between NAFLD&NASH and HCC; the red and black symbols indicate specific core members of the real GENs in NAFLD&NASH and HCC, respectively; and the green symbols are the common core members between NAFLD&NASH and HCC. In this figure, these core members are padded to complete the relevant signaling pathways for the convenience of analysis. The cytosolic proteins involved in the MAPK and the WNT pathways were highlighted by light-gray and light-blue bands, respectively. Dysfunctions of both metabolism and apoptosis via DNA hypermethylation and dysregulation of miR-21 contribute to tumorigenesis from NAFLD&NASH to HCC. Dysregulation of miR-21 and miR-122 contributes to tumor invasion and metastasis in HCC.