Fig. 2

Intersection of DEGs/DEPs in NPC exo and RT + IT-NPC exo samples identified through transcriptomic and proteomic analysis. A Volcano plots of DEGs from transcriptomic sequencing data in NPC exo and RT + IT-NPC exo groups (NPC exo group = 3, RT + IT-NPC exo group = 3). Red dots represent significantly upregulated genes, blue dots represent significantly downregulated genes, and black dots indicate no differential expression. B Heatmap of the top 50 most significantly upregulated and downregulated genes from transcriptomic sequencing data, with red indicating high expression and blue indicating low expression. C Volcano plots of DEGs from proteomic sequencing data in NPC exo and RT + IT-NPC exo groups (NPC exo group = 6, RT + IT-NPC exo group = 6). Red dots signify significantly upregulated genes, blue dots signify significantly downregulated genes, and black dots show no expression difference. D Heatmap of the top 50 most significantly upregulated and downregulated genes from proteomic sequencing data, with red representing high expression and blue representing low expression. E Venn diagram showing the intersection of DEGs from transcriptomic sequencing data and DEPs from proteomic sequencing data. F Analysis of the correlation between log2FC of intersecting DEGs/DEPs from transcriptomic and proteomic datasets. Quadrants 1 and 9: mRNA and corresponding proteins are inconsistent, indicating post-transcriptional or post-translational regulation, such as miRNA targeting genes. Quadrants 2 and 8: mRNA expression differences with no corresponding protein change, suggesting post-transcriptional or translational-level regulation. Quadrants 3 and 7: mRNA and corresponding proteins show the same pattern of expression differences, indicating simultaneous transcriptional and translational changes. Quadrants 4 and 6: Protein expression differences with no corresponding mRNA changes, potentially due to translational regulation or protein accumulation. Quadrant 5: Co-expressed mRNA/proteins do not show differential expression; most genes and proteins show no differential expression