scholarly journals Identification of the pivotal role of SPP1 in kidney stone disease based on multiple bioinformatics analysis

2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sen-Yuan Hong ◽  
Qi-Dong Xia ◽  
Jin-Zhou Xu ◽  
Chen-Qian Liu ◽  
Jian-Xuan Sun ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Kidney stone disease (KSD) is a multifactorial disease involving both environmental and genetic factors, whose pathogenesis remains unclear. This study aims to explore the hub genes related to stone formation that could serve as potential therapeutic targets. Methods Based on the GSE73680 dataset with 62 samples, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between Randall’s plaque (RP) tissues and normal tissues were screened and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was applied to identify key modules associated with KSD. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis were performed to explore the biological functions. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to identify hub genes. Meanwhile, CIBERSORT and ssGSEA analysis were used to estimate the infiltration level of the immune cells. The correlations between hub genes and immune infiltration levels were also investigated. Finally, the top hub gene was selected for further GSEA analysis. Results A total of 116 DEGs, including 73 up-regulated and 43 down-regulated genes, were screened in the dataset. The red module was identified as the key module correlated with KSD. 53 genes were obtained for functional enrichment analysis by taking the intersection of DEGs and genes in the red module. GO analysis showed that these genes were mainly involved in extracellular matrix organization (ECM) and extracellular structure organization, and others. KEGG analysis revealed that the pathways of aldosterone-regulated sodium reabsorption, cell adhesion molecules, arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism, and ECM-receptor interaction were enriched. Through PPI network construction, 30 hub genes were identified. CIBERSORT analysis revealed a significantly increased proportion of M0 macrophages, while ssGSEA revealed no significant differences. Among these hub genes, SPP1, LCN2, MMP7, MUC1, SCNN1A, CLU, SLP1, LAMC2, and CYSLTR2 were positively correlated with macrophages infiltration. GSEA analysis found that positive regulation of JNK activity was enriched in RP tissues with high SPP1 expression, while negative regulation of IL-1β production was enriched in the low-SPP1 subgroup. Conclusions There are 30 hub genes associated with KSD, among which SPP1 is the top hub gene with the most extensive links with other hub genes. SPP1 might play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of KSD, which is expected to become a potential therapeutic target, while its interaction with macrophages in KSD needs further investigation.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiahuan Luo ◽  
Li Zhu ◽  
Ning Zhou ◽  
Yuanyuan Zhang ◽  
Lirong Zhang ◽  
...  

Background: Many studies on circular RNAs (circRNAs) have recently been published. However, the function of circRNAs in recurrent implantation failure (RIF) is unknown and remains to be explored. This study aims to determine the regulatory mechanisms of circRNAs in RIF.Methods: Microarray data of RIF circRNA (GSE147442), microRNA (miRNA; GSE71332), and messenger RNA (mRNA; GSE103465) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to identify differentially expressed circRNA, miRNA, and mRNA. The circRNA–miRNA–mRNA network was constructed by Cytoscape 3.8.0 software, then the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed by STRING database, and the hub genes were identified by cytoHubba plug-in. The circRNA–miRNA–hub gene regulatory subnetwork was formed to understand the regulatory axis of hub genes in RIF. Finally, the Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of the hub genes were performed by clusterProfiler package of Rstudio software, and Reactome Functional Interaction (FI) plug-in was used for reactome analysis to comprehensively analyze the mechanism of hub genes in RIF.Results: A total of eight upregulated differentially expressed circRNAs (DECs), five downregulated DECs, 56 downregulated differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRs), 104 upregulated DEmiRs, 429 upregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and 1,067 downregulated DEGs were identified regarding RIF. The miRNA response elements of 13 DECs were then predicted. Seven overlapping miRNAs were obtained by intersecting the predicted miRNA and DEmiRs. Then, 56 overlapping mRNAs were obtained by intersecting the predicted target mRNAs of seven miRNAs with 1,496 DEGs. The circRNA–miRNA–mRNA network and PPI network were constructed through six circRNAs, seven miRNAs, and 56 mRNAs; and four hub genes (YWHAZ, JAK2, MYH9, and RAP2C) were identified. The circRNA–miRNA–hub gene regulatory subnetwork with nine regulatory axes was formed in RIF. Functional enrichment analysis and reactome analysis showed that these four hub genes were closely related to the biological functions and pathways of RIF.Conclusion: The results of this study provide further understanding of the potential pathogenesis from the perspective of circRNA-related competitive endogenous RNA network in RIF.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Shuqiang Li ◽  
Huijie Shao ◽  
Liansheng Chang

Epilepsy is most common in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). However, in addition to the challenging treatment, the pathogenesis of epilepsy is still controversial. To determine the transcriptome characteristics of perituberal tissue (PT) and clarify its role in the pathogenesis of epilepsy, GSE16969 was downloaded from the GEO database for further study by comprehensive bioinformatics analysis. Identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), functional enrichment analysis, construction of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and selection of Hub genes were performed using R language, Metascape, STRING, and Cytoscape, respectively. Comparing with cortical tuber (CT), 220 DEGs, including 95 upregulated and 125 downregulated genes, were identified in PT and mainly enriched in collagen-containing extracellular matrix and positive regulation of receptor-mediated endocytosis, as well as the pathways of ECM-receptor interaction and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction. As for normal cortex (NC), 1549 DEGs, including 30 upregulated and 1519 downregulated genes, were identified and mainly enriched in presynapse, dendrite and axon, and also the pathways of dopaminergic synapse and oxytocin signaling pathway. In the PPI network, 4 hub modules were found between PT and CT, and top 5 hub modules were selected between PT and NC. C3, APLNR, ANXA2, CD44, CLU, CP, MCHR2, HTR1E, CTSG, APP, and GNG2 were identified as Hub genes, of which, C3, CD44, ANXA2, HTR1E, and APP were identified as Hub-BottleNeck genes. In conclusion, PT has the unique characteristics different from CT and NC in transcriptome and makes us further understand its importance in the TSC-associated epilepsy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
YunXia Liu ◽  
YeFeng Xu ◽  
Feng Xiao ◽  
JianFeng Zhang ◽  
YiQing Wang ◽  
...  

Gastric cancer (GC) is the most common malignancy of the stomach. This study was aimed at elucidating the regulatory network of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA and identifying the precise inflammation-related targets in GC. The expression profiles of GSE83521, GSE78091, and GSE33651 were obtained from the GEO database. Interactions between miRNAs and circRNAs were investigated by the Circular RNA Interactome, and targets of miRNAs were predicted with miRTarBase. Then, a circRNA/miRNA/mRNA regulatory network was constructed. Also, functional enrichment analysis of selected differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was performed. The inflammation-/GC-related targets were collected in the GeneCards and GenLiP3 database, respectively. And a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DE mRNAs was constructed with STRING and Cytoscape to identify hub genes. The genetic alterations, neighboring gene networks, expression levels, and the poor prognosis of hub genes were investigated in cBioPortal, Oncomine, and Human Protein Atlas databases and Kaplan-Meier plotter, respectively. A total of 10 DE miRNAs and 33 DEGs were identified. The regulatory network contained 26 circRNAs, 10 miRNAs, and 1459 mRNAs. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the selected 33 DEGs were involved in negative regulation of fat cell differentiation, response to wounding, extracellular matrix- (ECM-) receptor interaction, and regulation of cell growth pathways. THBS1, FN1, CALM1, COL4A1, CTGF, and IGFBP5 were selected as inflammation-related hub genes of GC in the PPI network. The genetic alterations in these hub genes were related to amplification and missense mutations. Furthermore, the genes RYR2, ERBB2, PI3KCA, and HELZ2 were connected to hub genes in this study. The hub gene levels in clinical specimens were markedly upregulated in GC tissues and correlated with poor overall survival (OS). Our results suggest that THBS1, FN1, CALM1, COL4A1, CTGF, and IGFBP5 were associated with the pathogenesis of gastric carcinogenesis and may serve as biomarkers and inflammation-related targets for GC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Qingqing Ye ◽  
Hongbo Chen ◽  
Hongzhen Ma ◽  
Xiaojun Xiang ◽  
Shouci Hu ◽  
...  

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is responsible for significant mortality among hospitalized patients that is especially troubling aged people. An effective self-made Chinese medicine formula, Xiaoyu Xiezhuo Drink (XXD), displayed therapeutic effects on AKI. However, the compositions and underlying mechanisms of XXD remain to be elucidated. In this study, we used the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with hybrid triple quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) to investigate the chemical components in XXD. Then, the absorbable components of XXD were identified based on the five principles and inputted into the SwissTargetPrediction and STITCH databases to identify the drug targets. AKI-related targets were collected from the GenCLiP 3, GeneCards, and DisGeNET databases. The crossover genes of XXD and AKI were identified for functional enrichment analysis. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of crossover genes was constructed, followed by the identification of hub genes. Subsequently, the effects and potential mechanisms of XXD on AKI predicted by the network pharmacology and bioinformatics analyses were experimentally validated in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury-induced AKI aged mouse models. A total of 122 components in XXD were obtained; among them, 58 components were found that could be absorbed in the blood. There were 800 potential drug targets predicted from the 58 absorbable components in AKI which shared 36 crossover genes with AKI-related targets. The results of functional enrichment analysis indicated that crossover genes mostly associated with the response to oxidative stress and the HIF1 signaling pathway. In the PPI network analysis, 12 hub genes were identified, including ALB, IL-6, TNF, TP53, VEGFA, PTGS2, TLR4, NOS3, EGFR, PPARG, HIF1A, and HMOX1. In AKI aged mice, XXD prominently alleviated I/R injury-induced renal dysfunction, abnormal renal pathological changes, and cellular senescence, inflammation, and oxidative damage with a reduction in the expression level of the inflammatory mediator, α-SMA, collagen-1, F4/80, TP53, VEGFA, PTGS2, TLR4, NOS3, EGFR, PPARG, HIF1A, ICAM-1, TGF-β1, Smad3, and p-Smad3 and an increase of nephridial tissue p-H3, Ki67, HMOX1, MMP-9, and Smad7 levels. In summary, our findings suggest that XXD has renoprotective effects against AKI in aged mice via inhibiting the TGF-β1/Smad3 and HIF1 signaling pathways.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyang Shen ◽  
Zhijian Wang ◽  
Zhirui Zeng ◽  
Zhenqin Huang ◽  
Xiaowei Huang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Preeclampsia is a form of hypertension in pregnancy, which induced by complicated factors. However, the pathogenesis of the disease is unclear. The present study was aimed to discover the critical biomarkers associated with the occurrence and development of preeclampsia. Methods:Gene data profile GSE75010 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and used as discovery cohort to establish a WGCNA network determining significant modules which associated with clinical traits. Subsequently, functional enrichment analysis, pathway analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction were performed on the core genes in significant modules to identify hub genes. Then, gene data profile GSE25906 was used as verified cohort to determine their diagnostic value of hub genes. The protein expression levels of these hub genes in preeclampsia and control placental tissues were verified using immunohistochemistry method. Finally, GSEA was performed to analyze their enrichment pathways. Results: Total 33 co-expression modules were identified after the establishment of WGCNA, of which 4 gene modules were identified as significant modules because they were related to multiple (>3) clinical traits. Total 75 core genes in significant modules were analyzed, and results showed that they were mainly enriched in adaptive immune response (Gene Ontology term) and platelet activation (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes term). Finally, a total of 5 genes including TYROBP, PLEK, LCP2, HCK, ITGAM were identified as hub genes which scored high in PPI network and had high diagnostic value. Furthermore, the protein level of these 5 genes in placental tissues of preeclampsia was lower than that of the control group. Moreover, these 5 genes were all enriched in 17 pathways, including autoimmunity pathway. Conclusions:These 5 genes (TYROBP, PLEK, LCP2, HCK, ITGAM) may be closely related to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, which may also help the diagnosis and therapy of preeclampsia.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basavaraj Mallikarjunayya Vastrad ◽  
Chanabasayya Mallikarjunayya Vastrad

Heart failure (HF) is a complex cardiovascular diseases associated with high mortality. To discover key molecular changes in HF, we analyzed next-generation sequencing (NGS) data of HF. In this investigation, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed using limma in R package from GSE161472 of the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Then, gene enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, miRNA-hub gene regulatory network and TF-hub gene regulatory network construction, and topological analysis were performed on the DEGs by the Gene Ontology (GO), REACTOME pathway, STRING, HiPPIE, miRNet, NetworkAnalyst and Cytoscape. Finally, we performed receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis of hub genes. A total of 930 DEGs 9464 up regulated genes and 466 down regulated genes) were identified in HF. GO and REACTOME pathway enrichment results showed that DEGs mainly enriched in localization, small molecule metabolic process, SARS-CoV infections and the citric acid (TCA) cycle and respiratory electron transport. Subsequently, the PPI network, miRNA-hub gene regulatory network and TF-hub gene regulatory network were constructed, and 10 hub genes in these network were focused on by centrality analysis and module analysis. Furthermore, data showed that HSP90AA1, ARRB2, MYH9, HSP90AB1, FLNA, EGFR, PIK3R1, CUL4A, YEATS4 and KAT2B were good diagnostic values. In summary, this study suggests that HSP90AA1, ARRB2, MYH9, HSP90AB1, FLNA, EGFR, PIK3R1, CUL4A, YEATS4 and KAT2B may act as the key genes in HF.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Varun Alur ◽  
Varshita Raju ◽  
Basavaraj Mallikarjunayya Vastrad ◽  
Anandkumar Revanasiddappa Tengli ◽  
Chanabasayya Vastrad ◽  
...  

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is the metabolic disorder appears during pregnancy. The current investigation aimed to identify central differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in GDM. The transcription profiling by array data (E-MTAB-6418) was obtained from the ArrayExpress database. The DEGs between GDM samples and non GDM samples were analyzed. Functional enrichment analysis were performed using ToppGene. Then we constructed the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs by the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes database (STRING) and module analysis was performed. Subsequently, we constructed the miRNA-hub gene network and TF-hub gene regulatory network. The validation of hub genes was performed through receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Finally, the candidate small molecules as potential drugs to treat GDM were predicted by using molecular docking. Through transcription profiling by array data, a total of 869 DEGs were detected including 439 up regulated and 430 down regulated genes. Functional enrichment analysis showed these DEGs were mainly enriched in reproduction, cell adhesion, cell surface interactions at the vascular wall and extracellular matrix organization. Ten genes, HSP90AA1, EGFR, RPS13, RBX1, PAK1, FYN, ABL1, SMAD3, STAT3, and PRKCA were associated with GDM, according to ROC analysis. Finally, the most significant small molecules were predicted based on molecular docking. This investigation identified hub genes, signal pathways and therapeutic agents, which might help us, enhance our understanding of the mechanisms of GDM and find some novel therapeutic agents for GDM.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuxiang Ge ◽  
Wang Ding ◽  
Chong Bian ◽  
Huijie Gu ◽  
Jun Xu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Osteosarcoma (OS), one of the utmost common and malignant cancer, accounts for over 30% among skeletal sarcomas. Although great efforts have been made, the mechanism of OS still remains largely unknown. Here, we intend to identify gene modules and candidate biomarkers for clinical diagnosis of patients with OS, and reveal the mechanisms of OS progression.Methods: Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was conducted to build a co-expression network and investigate the relationship between modules and clinical traits. Functional enrichment analysis was performed on module genes. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to identify the hub gene and the expression level of hub genes was validated based on another dataset.Results: A total of 9854 genes were included in WGCNA, and 17 gene modules were constructed. Gene module related with OS in sacrum was mainly enriched in skeletal system development, bone development and extracellular structure organization. Furthermore, we screened the top 10 hub genes and further validated 5 of the 10 (MMP13, DCN, GNG2, PCOLCE and RUNX2), the expression of which were upregulated as compared with normal tissues.Conclusion: The hub gene we identified show great promise as prognostic markers for the management of OS and our findings also provide new insight for molecular mechanism of OS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. E45-54
Author(s):  
Chao Tan ◽  
Fang Zuo ◽  
Mingqian Lu ◽  
Sai Chen ◽  
Zhenzhen Tian ◽  
...  

Purpose: This study aimed to identify potential diagnostic and therapeutic biomakers for the development ofbreast cancer (BC). Methods: GSE86374 dataset containing 159 samples was acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database followed by differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identification and cluster analysis. Corresponding functional enrichment and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analyses were performed to identify hub genes. Prognostic evaluation using clinical information obtained from TCGA database and hub genes was conducted to screen for crucial indicators for BC progression. The risk model was established and validated. Results: In total, 186 DEGs were identified and grouped into four clusters: 96 in cluster 1; 69 in cluster 2; 16 in  cluster 3; and 5 in cluster 4. Functional enrichment analysis showed that DEGs, including ADH1B in cluster 1,  were dramatically enriched in the tyrosine and drug metabolism pathways, while genes in cluster 2, including  SPP1 and RRM2, played crucial roles in PI3K-Akt and p53 signalling pathway. SPP1 and RRM2 served as hub  genes in the PPI network, resulting in an support vector machine classifier with good accuracy and specificity.Ad ditionally, the results of prognostic analysis suggest that age, metastasis stage, SPP1 and ADH1B were correlated with risk of BC, which was validated by using the established risk model analysis. Conclusion: SPP1, RRM2 and ADH1B appear to play vital roles in the development of BC. Age and TNM stage  were also preferentially associated with risk of developing BC. Evaluation of the risk model based on larger sample size and further experimental validation are required.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basavaraj Mallikarjunayya Vastrad ◽  
Chanabasayya Mallikarjunayya Vastrad

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a metabolic disorder for which the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unclear. This investigation aimed to elucidate essential candidate genes and pathways in T1DM by integrated bioinformatics analysis. In this study, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed using DESeq2 of R package from GSE162689 of the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, REACTOME pathway enrichment analysis, and construction and analysis of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, modules, miRNA-hub gene regulatory network and TF-hub gene regulatory network, and validation of hub genes were then performed. A total of 952 DEGs (477 up regulated and 475 down regulated genes) were identified in T1DM. GO and REACTOME enrichment result results showed that DEGs mainly enriched in multicellular organism development, detection of stimulus, diseases of signal transduction by growth factor receptors and second messengers, and olfactory signaling pathway. The top hub genes such as MYC, EGFR, LNX1, YBX1, HSP90AA1, ESR1, FN1, TK1, ANLN and SMAD9 were screened out as the critical genes among the DEGs from the PPI network, modules, miRNA-hub gene regulatory network and TF-hub gene regulatory network. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis and RT-PCR confirmed that these genes were significantly associated with T1DM. In conclusion, the identified DEGs, particularly the hub genes, strengthen the understanding of the advancement and progression of T1DM, and certain genes might be used as candidate target molecules to diagnose, monitor and treat T1DM.


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