{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T18:18:53Z","timestamp":1792693133141,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,12]],"date-time":"2022-01-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1641945600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the doctoral startup fund of Gannan Medical University","award":["QD202132 and QD202136"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["QD202132 and QD202136"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Metastasis is the leading cause of melanoma-related mortality. Current therapies are rarely curative for metastatic melanoma, revealing the urgent need to identify more effective preventive and therapeutic targets. This study aimed to screen the core genes and molecular mechanisms related to melanoma metastasis. A gene expression profile, GSE8401, including 31 primary melanoma and 52 metastatic melanoma clinical samples, was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between melanoma metastases and primary melanoma were screened using GEO2R tool. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analyses of DEGs were performed using the Database for Annotation Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). The Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) and Cytoscape with Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) plug-in tools were utilized to detect the protein\u2013protein interaction (PPI) network among DEGs. The top 10 genes with the highest degrees of the PPI network were defined as hub genes. In the results, 425 DEGs, including 60 upregulated genes and 365 downregulated genes, were identified. The upregulated genes were enriched in ECM\u2013receptor interactions and the regulation of actin cytoskeleton, while 365 downregulated genes were enriched in amoebiasis, melanogenesis, and ECM\u2013receptor interactions. The defined hub genes included CDK1, COL17A1, EGFR, DSG1, KRT14, FLG, CDH1, DSP, IVL, and KRT5. In addition, the mRNA and protein levels of the hub genes during melanoma metastasis were verified in the TCGA database and paired post- and premetastatic melanoma cells, respectively. Finally, KRT5-specific siRNAs were utilized to reduce the KRT5 expression in melanoma A375 cells. An MTT assay and a colony formation assay showed that KRT5 knockdown significantly promoted the proliferation of A375 cells. A Transwell assay further suggested that KRT5 knockdown significantly increased the cell migration and cell invasion of A375 cells. This bioinformatics study provided a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms of melanoma metastasis. The in vitro experiments showed that KRT5 played the inhibitory effects on melanoma metastasis. Therefore, KRT5 may serve important roles in melanoma metastasis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms23020794","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,12]],"date-time":"2022-01-12T09:10:36Z","timestamp":1641978636000},"page":"794","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":93,"title":["Identification of Core Genes and Pathways in Melanoma Metastasis via Bioinformatics Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0523-9702","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Renjian","family":"Xie","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Ministry of Education, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Biomaterials and Bio-Fabrication in Tissue Engineering of Jiangxi Province, Ganzhou 341000, China"},{"name":"School of Medical Information Engineering, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bifei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Oceanography, Minjiang University, Fuzhou 350108, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lee","family":"Jia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Oceanography, Minjiang University, Fuzhou 350108, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7910-6515","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yumei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Ministry of Education, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China"},{"name":"School of Basic Medicine, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou 341000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"816","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(13)60802-8","article-title":"Cutaneous melanoma","volume":"383","author":"Eggermont","year":"2014","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.1111\/pcmr.12172","article-title":"Why is melanoma so metastatic?","volume":"27","author":"Braeuer","year":"2014","journal-title":"Pigment. 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