Identification of Latent Diagnostic Biomarkers and Biological Pathways in Dermatomyositis Based on WGCNA

Introduction. Dermatomyositis (DM) is a chronic autoimmune disease of predominantly lymphocytic infiltration mainly involving the transverse muscle. Its pathogenesis is remaining unknown. This research is designed to probe the latent pathogenesis of dermatomyositis, identify potential biomarkers, and reveal the pathogenesis of dermatomyositis through information biology analysis of gene chips. Methods. In this study, we utilised the GSE14287 and GSE11971 datasets rooted in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databank, which included a total of 62 DM samples and 9 normal samples. The datasets were combined, and the differentially expressed gene sets were subjected to weighted gene coexpression network analysis, and the hub gene was screened using a protein interaction network from genes in modules highly correlated with dermatomyositis progression. Results. A total of 3 key genes—myxovirus resistance-2 (MX2), oligoadenylate synthetase 1 (OAS1), and oligoadenylate synthetase 2 (OAS2)—were identified in combination with cell line samples, and the expressions of the 3 genes were verified separately. The results showed that MX2, OAS1, and OAS2 were highly expressed in LPS-treated cell lines compared to normal cell lines. The results of pathway enrichment analysis of the genes indicated that all 3 genes were enriched in the cytosolic DNA signalling and cytokine and cytokine receptor interaction signalling pathways; the results of functional enrichment analysis showed that all 3 were enriched in interferon-α response and interferon-γ response functions. Conclusions. This is important for the study of the pathogenesis and objective treatment of dermatomyositis and provides important reference information for the targeted therapy of dermatomyositis.

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Identification of novel genes and pathways in carotid atheroma using integrated bioinformatic methods

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/srep18764 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Wenqing Nai ◽

Diane Threapleton ◽

Jingbo Lu ◽

Kewei Zhang ◽

Hongyuan Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Signaling Pathway ◽

Transforming Growth Factor ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽

Atheromatous Plaques

Abstract Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of cardiovascular events and its molecular mechanism urgently needs to be clarified. In our study, atheromatous plaques (ATH) and macroscopically intact tissue (MIT) sampled from 32 patients were compared and an integrated series of bioinformatic microarray analyses were used to identify altered genes and pathways. Our work showed 816 genes were differentially expressed between ATH and MIT, including 443 that were up-regulated and 373 that were down-regulated in ATH tissues. GO functional-enrichment analysis for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) indicated that genes related to the “immune response” and “muscle contraction” were altered in ATHs. KEGG pathway-enrichment analysis showed that up-regulated DEGs were significantly enriched in the “FcεRI-mediated signaling pathway”, while down-regulated genes were significantly enriched in the “transforming growth factor-β signaling pathway”. Protein-protein interaction network and module analysis demonstrated that VAV1, SYK, LYN and PTPN6 may play critical roles in the network. Additionally, similar observations were seen in a validation study where SYK, LYN and PTPN6 were markedly elevated in ATH. All in all, identification of these genes and pathways not only provides new insights into the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, but may also aid in the development of prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers for advanced atheroma.

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Co-expression network analysis identifies specific hub genes in association with developmental neuronal remodeling in Drosophila melanogaster

10.7287/peerj.preprints.27586v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Yunze Liu ◽

Xiaojie Sun ◽

Aijun Qu

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽

Hub Genes ◽

Protein Protein Interaction ◽

Neuronal Remodeling ◽

Gene Modules

As an evolutionarily conserved mechanism, developmental neuronal remodeling is needed for the proper wiring of the nervous system and is critical for understanding the neurodevelopment mechanisms. Previous studies have shown that during metamorphosis lots of Drosophila melanogaster mushroom body neurons experience stereotypic remodeling. However, the related regulators and downstream executors of pathways are yet unclear, especially studies of transcriptional gene co-expression analysis of nervous systems remain insufficient. In this study, we develop a weighted gene co-expression network (WGCNA) to classify gene modules associated with neuronal remodeling. Moreover, functional and pathway enrichment analysis with protein-protein network construction is applied to detect high informative hub genes in the targeted gene module. Thus, we select a total of five hub genes that play critical roles in neuronal remodeling and identify them with functional enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction network. Overall, this study provides insight into the underlying molecular mechanism of developmental neuronal remodeling in Drosophila melanogaster.

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Co-expression network analysis identifies specific hub genes in association with developmental neuronal remodeling in Drosophila melanogaster

10.7287/peerj.preprints.27586 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Yunze Liu ◽

Xiaojie Sun ◽

Aijun Qu

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽

Hub Genes ◽

Protein Protein Interaction ◽

Neuronal Remodeling ◽

Gene Modules

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Investigation of Key Genes associated with Prostate Cancer using RNA-Seq Data

The International Journal of Biological Markers ◽

10.5301/jbm.5000056 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. e86-e92 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jitao Wu ◽

Fan Feng ◽

Diandong Yang ◽

Shengqiang Yu ◽

Jianqiu Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prostate Cancer ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Normal Sample ◽

Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Cancer Sample ◽

Key Genes

We aimed to identify key genes associated with prostate cancer using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data. RNA-seq data, including 1 cancer sample and 1 adjacent normal sample, were downloaded from the NCBI SRA database and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified with the software Cufflinks. Functional enrichment analysis was performed to uncover the biological functions of DEGs. Regulatory information was retrieved from the IPA database and a network was established. A total of 147 DEGs were obtained, including 96 downregulated and 51 upregulated DEGs. Gene ontology (GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis suggested that metabolism and signal transduction were the 2 major functions that were significantly influenced. Moreover, an interaction network was built. In conclusion, a number of DEGs was identified and their roles in the pathogenesis of cancer were supported by previous studies. More studies are necessary to further validate their usefulness in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.

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Investigation and Functional Enrichment Analysis of the Human Host Interaction Network with Common Gram-Negative Respiratory Pathogens Predicts Possible Association with Lung Adenocarcinoma

Pathophysiology ◽

10.3390/pathophysiology28010003 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 20-33

Author(s):

Lydia-Eirini Giannakou ◽

Athanasios-Stefanos Giannopoulos ◽

Chrissi Hatzoglou ◽

Konstantinos I. Gourgoulianis ◽

Erasmia Rouka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lung Adenocarcinoma ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Cell Junctions ◽

Respiratory Pathogens ◽

Gram Negative ◽

Human Proteins ◽

Apoptotic Pathways

Haemophilus influenzae (Hi), Moraxella catarrhalis (MorCa) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Psa) are three of the most common gram-negative bacteria responsible for human respiratory diseases. In this study, we aimed to identify, using the functional enrichment analysis (FEA), the human gene interaction network with the aforementioned bacteria in order to elucidate the full spectrum of induced pathogenicity. The Human Pathogen Interaction Database (HPIDB 3.0) was used to identify the human proteins that interact with the three pathogens. FEA was performed via the ToppFun tool of the ToppGene Suite and the GeneCodis database so as to identify enriched gene ontologies (GO) of biological processes (BP), cellular components (CC) and diseases. In total, 11 human proteins were found to interact with the bacterial pathogens. FEA of BP GOs revealed associations with mitochondrial membrane permeability relative to apoptotic pathways. FEA of CC GOs revealed associations with focal adhesion, cell junctions and exosomes. The most significantly enriched annotations in diseases and pathways were lung adenocarcinoma and cell cycle, respectively. Our results suggest that the Hi, MorCa and Psa pathogens could be related to the pathogenesis and/or progression of lung adenocarcinoma via the targeting of the epithelial cellular junctions and the subsequent deregulation of the cell adhesion and apoptotic pathways. These hypotheses should be experimentally validated.

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Demethylation alters transcriptome profiling of buds and leaves in ‘Kyoho’ grape

BMC Plant Biology ◽

10.1186/s12870-020-02754-0 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Haoran Jia ◽

Zibo Zhang ◽

Ehsan Sadeghnezhad ◽

Qianqian Pang ◽

Shangyun Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Regulatory Networks ◽

Epigenetic Modification ◽

Deep Understanding ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Glutathione Metabolism ◽

Endogenous Factors

Abstract Background Grape buds and leaves are directly associated with the physiology and metabolic activities of the plant, which is monitored by epigenetic modifications induced by environment and endogenous factors. Methylation is one of the epigenetic regulators that could be involved in DNA levels and affect gene expression in response to stimuli. Therefore, changes of gene expression profile in leaves and bud through inhibitors of DNA methylation provide a deep understanding of epigenetic effects in regulatory networks. Results In this study, we carried out a transcriptome analysis of ‘Kyoho’ buds and leaves under 5-azacytidine (5-azaC) exposure and screened a large number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs). GO and KEGG annotations showed that they are mainly involved in photosynthesis, flavonoid synthesis, glutathione metabolism, and other metabolic processes. Functional enrichment analysis also provided a holistic perspective on the transcriptome profile when 5-azaC bound to methyltransferase and induced demethylation. Enrichment analysis of transcription factors (TFs) also showed that the MYB, C2H2, and bHLH families are involved in the regulation of responsive genes under epigenetic changes. Furthermore, hormone-related genes have also undergone significant changes, especially gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA)-related genes that responded to bud germination. We also used protein-protein interaction network to determine hub proteins in response to demethylation. Conclusions These findings provide new insights into the establishment of molecular regulatory networks according to how methylation as an epigenetic modification alters transcriptome patterns in bud and leaves of grape.

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The Role of Circular RNA CDR1as/ciRS-7 in Regulating Tumor Microenvironment: A Pan-Cancer Analysis

Biomolecules ◽

10.3390/biom9090429 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 429 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Zou ◽

Zheng ◽

Deng ◽

Yang ◽

Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tumor Microenvironment ◽

Signaling Pathway ◽

Malignant Tumors ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Circular Rna ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Receptor Interaction

Circular RNA CDR1as/ciRS-7 functions as an oncogenic regulator in various cancers. However, there has been a lack of systematic and comprehensive analysis to further elucidate its underlying role in cancer. In the current study, we firstly performed a bioinformatics analysis of CDR1as among 868 cancer samples by using RNA-seq datasets of the MiOncoCirc database. Gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), CIBERSORT, Estimating the Proportion of Immune and Cancer cells (EPIC), and the MAlignant Tumors using Expression data (ESTIMATE) algorithm were applied to investigate the underlying functions and pathways. Functional enrichment analysis suggested that CDR1as has roles associated with angiogenesis, extracellular matrix (ECM) organization, integrin binding, and collagen binding. Moreover, pathway analysis indicated that it may regulate the TGF-β signaling pathway and ECM-receptor interaction. Therefore, we used CIBERSORT, EPIC, and the ESTIMATE algorithm to investigate the association between CDR1as expression and the tumor microenvironment. Our data strongly suggest that CDR1as may play a specific role in immune and stromal cell infiltration in tumor tissue, especially those of CD8+ T cells, activated NK cells, M2 macrophages, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and endothelial cells. Generally, systematic and comprehensive analyses of CDR1as were conducted to shed light on its underlying pro-cancerous mechanism. CDR1as regulates the TGF-β signaling pathway and ECM-receptor interaction to serve as a mediator in alteration of the tumor microenvironment.

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Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Suggests Key Roles for 5-Hydroxytryptamlne Receptors in Control of Goose Egg Production

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes11040455 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 455 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Qingyuan Ouyang ◽

Shenqiang Hu ◽

Guosong Wang ◽

Jiwei Hu ◽

Jiaman Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Egg Production ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Production Performance ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Receptor Interaction ◽

Anser Anser

To date, research on poultry egg production performance has only been conducted within inter or intra-breed groups, while those combining both inter- and intra-breed groups are lacking. Egg production performance is known to differ markedly between Sichuan white goose (Anser cygnoides) and Landes goose (Anser anser). In order to understand the mechanism of egg production performance in geese, we undertook this study. Here, 18 ovarian stromal samples from both Sichuan white goose and Landes goose at the age of 145 days (3 individuals before egg production initiation for each breed) and 730 days (3 high- and low egg production individuals during non-laying periods for each breed) were collected to reveal the genome-wide expression profiles of ovarian mRNAs and lncRNAs between these two geese breeds at different physiological stages. Briefly, 58, 347, 797, 777, and 881 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 56, 24, 154, 105, and 224 differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (DElncRNAs) were found in LLD vs. HLD (low egg production Landes goose vs. high egg production Landes goose), LSC vs. HSC (low egg production Sichuan White goose vs. high egg production Sichuan white goose), YLD vs. YSC (young Landes goose vs. young Sichuan white goose), HLD vs. HSC (high egg production Landes goose vs. high egg production Sichuan white goose), and LLD vs. LSC (low egg production Landes goose vs. low egg production Sichuan white goose) groups, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis of these DEGs and DElncRNAs suggest that the “neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction pathway” is crucial for egg production, and particularly, members of the 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor (HTR) family affect egg production by regulating ovarian metabolic function. Furthermore, the big differences in the secondary structures among HTR1F and HTR1B, HTR2B, and HTR7 may lead to their different expression patterns in goose ovaries of both inter- and intra-breed groups. These results provide novel insights into the mechanisms regulating poultry egg production performance.

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System Analysis of MIRNAs in Maize Internode Elongation

Biomolecules ◽

10.3390/biom9090417 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 417

Author(s):

Chuanxi Peng ◽

Xing Wang ◽

Tianyu Feng ◽

Rui He ◽

Mingcai Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Target Genes ◽

System Analysis ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Internode Elongation ◽

Differentially Expressed Mirnas ◽

Post Transcriptional Regulation

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), the post-transcriptional gene regulators, are known to play an important role in plant development. The identification of differentially expressed miRNAs could better help us understand the post-transcriptional regulation that occurs during maize internode elongation. Accordingly, we compared the expression of MIRNAs between fixed internode and elongation internode samples and classified six differentially expressed MIRNAs as internode elongation-responsive miRNAs including zma-MIR160c, zma-MIR164b, zma-MIR164c, zma-MIR168a, zma-MIR396f, and zma-MIR398b, which target mRNAs supported by transcriptome sequencing. Functional enrichment analysis for predictive target genes showed that these miRNAs were involved in the development of internode elongation by regulating the genes respond to hormone signaling. To further reveal how miRNA affects internode elongation by affecting target genes, the miRNA–mRNA–PPI (protein and protein interaction) network was constructed to summarize the interaction of miRNAs and these target genes. Our results indicate that miRNAs regulate internode elongation in maize by targeting genes related to cell expansion, cell wall synthesis, transcription, and regulatory factors.

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Identification of nine key genes by bioinformatics analysis for predicting poor prognosis in smoking-induced lung adenocarcinoma

Lung Cancer Management ◽

10.2217/lmt-2020-0009 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. LMT30

Author(s):

Chuanli Ren ◽

Weixiu Sun ◽

Xu Lian ◽

Chongxu Han

Keyword(s):

Lung Adenocarcinoma ◽

Differentially Expressed Genes ◽

Interaction Network ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Kaplan Meier ◽

Key Genes ◽

Core Genes

Aim: To screen and identify key genes related to the development of smoking-induced lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Materials & methods: We obtained data from the GEO chip dataset GSE31210. The differentially expressed genes were screened by GEO2R. The protein interaction network of differentially expressed genes was constructed by STRING and Cytoscape. Finally, core genes were screened. The overall survival time of patients with the core genes was analyzed by Kaplan–Meier method. Gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes bioaccumulation was calculated by DAVID. Results: Functional enrichment analysis indicated that nine key genes were actively involved in the biological process of smoking-related LUAD. Conclusion: 23 core genes and nine key genes among them were correlated with adverse prognosis of LUAD induced by smoking.

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