Figure 3

Analysis of co-expressed genes and their regulation. (A) Correlations between the co-expression modules and each of the sample groups (normal tissue, OLP, early OSCC, and advanced OSCC). Cell colors correspond to Pearson correlation values between each co-expression module (rows) with groups (columns), from blue (100% inverse correlation) to red (100% direct correlation). Numbers in each cell refer to Pearson's correlation r values, with p-values represented below in parentheses. Correlations with p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. (B) Pathway enrichment of genes in the magenta module using ORA. All represented pathways are significantly enriched (FDR > 0.05). Bar length and colors indicate gene counts and BH-adjusted p-values, respectively. (C) Representations of the magenta module as a PPI network (largest connected component). Node size, shape, and color represent degree, category, and LFC in OLP, respectively. Red node labels indicate hubs. (D) Hub genes from the magenta module compared between OLP, both OSCC groups, and normal tissue. Box plots represent the normalized expression distribution in each group. Comparisons among groups were made using the Kruskal–Wallis test followed by Dunn's post-hoc test, with p-values lower than 0.05 considered significant for both tests. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ****p < 0.0001.