Fig 1: SLC39A8 and SLC39A14 identified as key model genes playing important roles in tumor microenvironment and cancer progression in CRC(A-B) Representative images of SLC39A8 (A) and SLC39A14 (B) IHC staining in CRC tumors and their paired normal tissues. (C-D) GO and KEGG terms enriched for DEGs between SLC39A8 (C) high/low expressing groups and SLC39A14 (D) high/low expressing groups were identified through GSEA analysis. (E-F) Differences in MsigDB-based pathway activities between SLC39A8 (E) high/low expressing groups and SLC39A14 (F) scored by GSVA. Statistical significance was calculated using Wilcoxon test (E-F). *** p < 0.001, ** p < 0.01, * p < 0.05