Abstract
Background: Acute spinal cord injury (ASCI) is considered a form of severe central nervous system damage. At present, research in the fields of spinal surgery and neurology has highlighted the complex mechanisms underlying ASCI, among which autophagy is considered to play a crucial role.Objectives: We aimed to identify the genes and molecular pathways associated with ASCI and autophagy using computational tools and publicly available data, and to identify drugs targeting the relevant genes associated with ASCI and autophagy.Materials and Methods: We used text mining to detect the ASCI and autophagy-associated genes, and the intersection of the two gene sets was selected for gene ontology analysis using the DAVID program. We then constructed protein–protein interaction networks, followed by a functional enrichment analysis, from which we obtained two significant gene modules. Finally, the final list of genes was queried against the Drug Gene Interaction database to find drug candidates targeting the relevant ASCI and autophagy genes.Results: Our analysis identified 156 genes common to both the “ASCI” and “Autophagy” text mining concepts. Gene enrichment analysis yielded two significant gene modules (20 genes), which represent six significant signal pathways and could be targeted by 28 Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug molecules, and identified the drug–gene interactions. Conclusion: In conclusion, we presented a method to explore the potential key genes, molecular pathways and candidate drugs associated with ASCI and autophagy. As a result, in this method, we identified a total of 20 potential genes, six significant pathways and 28 candidate drugs, which could provides a basis for new trials and the development of novel targeted therapies as potential treatments for ASCI.
Retraction Note to: Analyzing time-series microarray data reveals key genes in spinal cord injury
