Assessment of Colorectal Cancer Risk Factors through the Application of Network-Based Approaches in a Racially Diverse Cohort of Colon Organoid Stem Cells

Numerous demographic factors have been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. To better define biological mechanisms underlying these associations, we performed RNA sequencing of stem-cell-enriched organoids derived from the healthy colons seven European Americans and eight African Americans. A weighted gene co-expression network analysis was following sequencing. Module–trait relationships were determined through association testing each module five CRC risk (age, body mass index, sex, smoking history, race). Only modules that displayed a significantly positive correlation for significance membership considered further investigation. In total, 16 known (p < 0.05). contextualize role in CRC, publicly available RNA-sequencing data TCGA-COAD downloaded re-analyzed. Differentially expressed genes identified between tumors matched normal-adjacent tissue overlaid across module. Loci genome-wide studies additionally to identify robust putative targets Among them, MYBL2 RXRA represented strong plausible drivers which cigarette BMI potentially modulated risk, respectively. summary, our findings highlight potential colon organoid system identifying novel an ancestrally diverse cellularly relevant population.