Greater expression of THBS2 and VACN in gastric carcinoma compared to gastritis.

e16026 Background: Gastric carcinoma (GC) is one of the most common cancers with the lowest survival rate in the world. The development from gastritis to GC may be related to genetic factors, but the specific molecular mechanism is not clear. The present study aimed to explore the gene difference between GC and gastritis. Methods: Two gene expression profiles including GC and gastritis were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between GC and gastritis were explored. Through pathway enrichment of DEGs, hub genes were identified. The prognosis significances of hub genes for GC patients were analyzed by overall survival (OS) analysis. Animal models of gastritis and GC were constructed and immunofluorescence and RT-PCR were used to verify the distinct expression of hub genes between the two diseases. Finally, the correlations between hub genes and GC were understood based on BP neural network. Results: A total of 62 DEGs was identified between GC and gastritis. Eight hub genes were identified, including MSLN, FGA, SPP1, THBS2, SPARC, FN1, IGFBP7 and VCAN. Except SPP1, the high expression of the other seven hub genes predicted poor OS for GC patients. In mouse model, the mRNA expression of SPP1, FN1, IGFBP7, THBS2 and VCAN were significantly higher in GC group than that in gastritis group. No matter in mouse model or in Human Protein Atlas, the protein expression of THBS2 and VCAN in GC was higher than that in gastritis. Based on the strong correlation among THBS2, VACN and GC suggested by BP neural network, it was speculated that the expression levels of THBS2 and VACN may be a predictor of GC. Conclusions: Compared with gastritis, THBS2 and VACN are highly expressed in GC. THBS2 and VACN may be potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for GC.