Objective  This study constructs networks and screens potential early-warning plasma biomarkers specific for cervical cancer in Uygur women based on the proteomic data of a previous study by using MetaCore^TM Analysis. This study also explains the canceration mechanism of cervical cancer.

  OMethods  A total of 43 plasma differential core proteins, which were analyzed and identified by proteomic techniques, underwent enrichment analysis of protein functional annotation, biological process, cellular component, GeneGo network distribution and network construction, and biomarker assessment by using MetaCore^TM online bioinformatics software.

  Results  The result of the MetaCore^TM analysis shows that the negative regulation of cellular component organization, reverse cholesterol transport, and negative regulation of response to stimulus were the most frequently identified functions of the selected differential proteins. The regulation of metabolism, bile acid regulation of lipid metabolism, negative farnesoid X-activated receptor-dependent regulation of bile acid concentration, inflammation complement system, cytoskeleton actin filaments, signal transduction estrogen receptor 1 membrane pathway, and inflammation interleukin-6 signaling were identified as the canonical pathways that are overrepresented in cervical cancer. The MetaCore network of selected proteins, which was constructed using the shortest path algorithm with four plasma proteins (antithrombin Ⅲ (ATⅢ), clusterin (CLU), villin1 (VIL1), and immunoglobulin kappa locus (IGK@)) as candidate biomarkers, was screened.

  Conclusion  The proteins ATⅢ, CLU, VIL1, and IGK@ can be considered candidate plasma biomarkers of cervical cancer. The mechanism of occurrence and development of cervical cancer was further explained by MetaCore^TM bioinformatics analysis, thereby enhancing the early-warning system for cervical cancer.