scholarly journals Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis Applied to Identify the Immune Cell-related Hub Genes in ANCA Nephritis

Author(s):  
Juan Jin ◽  
Di Zhang ◽  
Mingzhu Liang ◽  
Wenfang He ◽  
Jinshi Zhang

Abstract Background: Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV) is the most common reason caused rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis worldwide. But the molecular mechanisms of ANCA - associated nephritis (AAN) have not been thoroughly expounded. So that,we aim to seek the potential molecular pathogenesis of AAN by bioinformatic.Result: Finally, four hub genes, PBK, CEP55, CCNB1 and BUB1B, were identified. These four hub geneswas verified higher in AAN than normal.Conclusion: Those four genes identified by integrated bioinformatics analysis may play a critical role in AAN. May offering a new insights and potential therapeutic to the AAN

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Yan ◽  
Shijie Zhu ◽  
Miao Zhu ◽  
Chunsheng Wang ◽  
Changfa Guo

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common tachyarrhythmia in the clinic, leading to high morbidity and mortality. Although many studies on AF have been conducted, the molecular mechanism of AF has not been fully elucidated. This study was designed to explore the molecular mechanism of AF using integrative bioinformatics analysis and provide new insights into the pathophysiology of AF.Methods: The GSE115574 dataset was downloaded, and Cibersort was applied to estimate the relative expression of 22 kinds of immune cells. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified through the limma package in R language. Weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to cluster DEGs into different modules and explore relationships between modules and immune cell types. Functional enrichment analysis was performed on DEGs in the significant module, and hub genes were identified based on the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Hub genes were then verified using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).Results: A total of 2,350 DEGs were identified and clustered into eleven modules using WGCNA. The magenta module with 246 genes was identified as the key module associated with M1 macrophages with the highest correlation coefficient. Three hub genes (CTSS, CSF2RB, and NCF2) were identified. The results verified using three other datasets and qRT-PCR demonstrated that the expression levels of these three genes in patients with AF were significantly higher than those in patients with SR, which were consistent with the bioinformatic analysis.Conclusion: Three novel genes identified using comprehensive bioinformatics analysis may play crucial roles in the pathophysiological mechanism in AF, which provide potential therapeutic targets and new insights into the treatment and early detection of AF.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jielin Deng ◽  
Yunqiu Jiang ◽  
Changjin Deng ◽  
hong jiang

Abstract Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most common cardiomyopathy which account for a majority of heart failure. Although massive clinic experiments and gene profiling analyses on DCM have been conducted, the molecular mechanism of DCM associated with immune cells has not been fully elucidated. This study was designed to discover the immune mechanism of DCM using integrative bioinformatics analysis and provide new insights into the pathophysiology of DCM. Methods: The GSE29819 dataset was downloaded, and Cibersort was applied to estimate the relative expression of 22 kinds of immune cells based on 14 samples of 7 DCM patients. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed to cluster the 2500 genes with the highest average expression into different modules and explore relationships between modules and immune cell types. Functional enrichment analysis was performed on key genes in significant modules identified by WGCNA and Cibersort. Key genes were then applied to Cytoscape to construct protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified based on DCM and normal controls in GSE29819 through R language. Hub genes were selected based on the DEGs and the genes identified by PPI and then verified via public GEO databases. Results: The yellow and tan modules with 163 genes were identified as the key modules based on top 2500 DCM microarrays, significantly correlated with M1 and M2 macrophages. The intersection of newly screened 17 genes based on 163 key genes through Cytoscape and 2682 DEGs were defined as hub genes including CCT2, CCL2, and TXN. The results were finally verified via GSE116250 datasets.Conclusions: The three hub genes associated with two immune cells identified by comprehensive bioinformatics analysis may play crucial roles in the pathophysiological mechanism of DCM, which provided potential immunological therapeutic targets and new insights into the treatment of DCM.


2022 ◽  
Vol 2022 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Qiaoqiao Li ◽  
Xueping Gao ◽  
Xueshan Luo ◽  
Qingrui Wu ◽  
Jintao He ◽  
...  

Cardioembolic stroke (CS) is the most common type of ischemic stroke in the clinic, leading to high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although many studies have been conducted, the molecular mechanism underlying CS has not been fully grasped. This study was aimed at exploring the molecular mechanism of CS using comprehensive bioinformatics analysis and providing new insights into the pathophysiology of CS. We downloaded the public datasets GSE58294 and GSE16561. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened via the limma package using R software. CIBERSORT was used to estimate the proportions of 22 immune cells based on the gene expression profiling of CS patients. Using weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA) to cluster the genes into different modules and detect relationships between modules and immune cell types, hub genes were identified based on the intersection of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis and WGCNA, and their clinical significance was then verified using another independent dataset GSE16561. Totally, 319 genes were identified as DEGs and 5413 genes were clustered into nine modules using WGCNA. The blue module, with the highest correlation coefficient, was identified as the key module associated with stroke, neutrophils, and B cells naïve. Based on the PPI analysis and WGCNA, five genes (MCEMP1, CLEC4D, GPR97, TSPAN14, and FPR2) were identified as hub genes. Correlation analysis indicated that hub genes had general association with infiltration-related immune cells. ROC analysis also showed they had potential clinical significance. The results were verified using another dataset, which were consistent with our analysis. Five crucial genes determined using integrative bioinformatics analysis might play significant roles in the pathophysiological mechanism in CS and be potential targets for pharmaceutic therapies.


2021 ◽  
pp. 214-220
Author(s):  
Federica Maritati ◽  
Maria Ilaria Moretti ◽  
Valentina Nastasi ◽  
Roberta Mazzucchelli ◽  
Manrico Morroni ◽  
...  

Many reports have described a high incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) among patients with COVID-19. Acute tubular necrosis has been reported to be the most common damage in these patients, probably due to hemodynamic instability. However, other complex processes may be involved, related to the cytokine storm and the activation of innate and adaptive immunity. Here, we describe a patient who developed an antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis and lung involvement and an antiphospholipid syndrome soon after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. After viral pneumonia was excluded by bronchoalveolar lavage, the patient has been treated with rituximab for amelioration of kidney function and resolution of thrombosis without any adverse event. We conclude that COVID-19 may trigger autoimmune diseases including ANCA-associated vasculitis. Thus, this diagnosis should be taken in consideration in COVID-19 patients, especially when they develop AKI with active urinary sediment. In addition, considering the relationship between these 2 diseases, SARS-CoV-2 infection should be excluded in all patients with a new diagnosis ANCA-associated vasculitis before starting immunosuppressive therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Bojun Xu ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Huakui Zhan ◽  
Liangbin Zhao ◽  
Yuehan Wang ◽  
...  

Objectives. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) throughout the world, and the identification of novel biomarkers via bioinformatics analysis could provide research foundation for future experimental verification and large-group cohort in DN models and patients. Methods. GSE30528, GSE47183, and GSE104948 were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to find differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The difference of gene expression between normal renal tissues and DN renal tissues was firstly screened by GEO2R. Then, the protein-protein interactions (PPIs) of DEGs were performed by STRING database, the result was integrated and visualized via applying Cytoscape software, and the hub genes in this PPI network were selected by MCODE and topological analysis. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were carried out to determine the molecular mechanisms of DEGs involved in the progression of DN. Finally, the Nephroseq v5 online platform was used to explore the correlation between hub genes and clinical features of DN. Results. There were 64 DEGs, and 32 hub genes were identified, enriched pathways of hub genes involved in several functions and expression pathways, such as complement binding, extracellular matrix structural constituent, complement cascade related pathways, and ECM proteoglycans. The correlation analysis and subgroup analysis of 7 complement cascade-related hub genes and the clinical characteristics of DN showed that C1QA, C1QB, C3, CFB, ITGB2, VSIG4, and CLU may participate in the development of DN. Conclusions. We confirmed that the complement cascade-related hub genes may be the novel biomarkers for DN early diagnosis and targeted treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanbang Zhou ◽  
Yiyang Chen ◽  
Ruixing Luo ◽  
Zifan Li ◽  
Guanwei Jiang ◽  
...  

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer with poor prognosis. Due to the lack of effective biomarkers and its complex immune microenvironment, the effects of current HCC therapies are not ideal. In this study, we used the GSE57957 microarray data from Gene Expression Omnibus database to construct a co-expression network. The weighted gene co-expression network analysis and CIBERSORT algorithm, which quantifies cellular composition of immune cells, were used to identify modules related to immune cells. Four hub genes (EFTUD2, GAPDH, NOP56, PA2G4) were identified by co-expression network and protein-protein interactions network analysis. We examined these genes in TCGA database, and found that the four hub genes were highly expressed in tumor tissues in multiple HCC groups, and the expression levels were significantly correlated with patient survival time, pathological stage and tumor progression. On the other hand, methylation analysis showed that the up-regulation of EFTUD2, GAPDH, NOP56 might be due to the hypomethylation status of their promoters. Next, we investigated the correlations between the expression levels of four hub genes and tumor immune infiltration using Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER). Gene set variation analysis suggested that the four hub genes were associated with numerous pathways that affect tumor progression or immune microenvironment. Overall, our results showed that the four hub genes were closely related to tumor prognosis, and may serve as targets for treatment and diagnosis of HCC. In addition, the associations between these genes and immune infiltration enhanced our understanding of tumor immune environment and provided new directions for the development of drugs and the monitoring of tumor immune status.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Pan ◽  
Jian-Hao Liu

Abstract Background Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a heterogeneous carcinoma that the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in the tumor initiation, progression, and migration are largely unclear. The purpose of the present study was to identify key biomarkers and small-molecule drugs for NPC screening, diagnosis, and therapy via gene expression profile analysis. Methods Raw microarray data of NPC were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and analyzed to screen out the potential differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The key modules associated with histology grade and tumor stage was identified by using weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA). Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of genes in the key module were performed to identify potential mechanisms. Candidate hub genes were obtained, which based on the criteria of module membership (MM) and high connectivity. Then we used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to evaluate the diagnostic value of hub genes. The Connectivity map database was further used to screen out small-molecule drugs of hub genes. Results A total of 430 DEGs were identified based on two GEO datasets. The green gene module was considered as key module for the tumor stage of NPC via WGCNA analysis. The results of functional enrichment analysis revealed that genes in the green module were enriched in regulation of cell cycle, p53 signaling pathway, cell part morphogenesis. Furthermore, four DEGs-related hub genes in the green module were considered as the final hub genes. Then ROC revealed that the final four hub genes presented with high areas under the curve, suggesting these hub genes may be diagnostic biomarkers for NPC. Meanwhile, we screened out several small-molecule drugs that have provided potentially therapeutic goals for NPC. Conclusions Our research identified four potential prognostic biomarkers and several candidate small-molecule drugs for NPC, which may contribute to the new insights for NPC therapy.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257343
Author(s):  
Shaoshuo Li ◽  
Baixing Chen ◽  
Hao Chen ◽  
Zhen Hua ◽  
Yang Shao ◽  
...  

Objectives Smoking is a significant independent risk factor for postmenopausal osteoporosis, leading to genome variations in postmenopausal smokers. This study investigates potential biomarkers and molecular mechanisms of smoking-related postmenopausal osteoporosis (SRPO). Materials and methods The GSE13850 microarray dataset was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Gene modules associated with SRPO were identified using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, and pathway and functional enrichment analyses. Feature genes were selected using two machine learning methods: support vector machine-recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) and random forest (RF). The diagnostic efficiency of the selected genes was assessed by gene expression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve. Results Eight highly conserved modules were detected in the WGCNA network, and the genes in the module that was strongly correlated with SRPO were used for constructing the PPI network. A total of 113 hub genes were identified in the core network using topological network analysis. Enrichment analysis results showed that hub genes were closely associated with the regulation of RNA transcription and translation, ATPase activity, and immune-related signaling. Six genes (HNRNPC, PFDN2, PSMC5, RPS16, TCEB2, and UBE2V2) were selected as genetic biomarkers for SRPO by integrating the feature selection of SVM-RFE and RF. Conclusion The present study identified potential genetic biomarkers and provided a novel insight into the underlying molecular mechanism of SRPO.


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