Identification and validation of hub genes related to immunity of ovarian cancer

Abstract Background Ovarian cancer (OV) is characteristic of high incidence rate and fatality rate in the malignant tumors of female reproductive system. Researches on pathogenesis and therapeutic targets for OV need to be continued. This study mainly analyzed the immune-related pathogenesis and discovered the key immunotherapy targets for OV. Methods WGCNA was used for excavating hub gene modules and hub genes related to immunity of OV. Enrichment Analysis were aimed to analyze the related pathways of hub gene modules. Biological experiments were used for exploring the effect of hub genes on SKOV3 cells. Results We identified two hub gene modules related to the immunoscore of OV and found that these genes in the modules were related to the extracellular matrix and viral infections. At the same time, we also discovered six hub genes related to the immunity of OV. Among them, KIF26B and CREB3L1 can affect the proliferation, migration and invasion of SKOV3 cells by the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Conclusions The local infection or inflammation of ovarian may affect the immunity of OV. KIF26B and CREB3L1 are expected to be potential targets for the immunotherapy of OV.