scholarly journals Identification of Key Immune-Related Genes, Molecular Pathways and Immune Infiltration as Diagnostic and Therapeutic Candidate Targets for RA: an integrated bioinformatics-based analysis

Author(s):  
Sheng Fang ◽  
Xiao Fang ◽  
Xin Xu ◽  
Lin Zhong ◽  
An-quan Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Relevance Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease with an aggressive, chronic synovial inflammation as the main pathological change. However, the specific etiology, pathogenesis, and related biomarkers in diagnosis and treatment are still not fully elucidated. This study attempts to provide new perspectives and insights into RA at the genetic, molecular, and cellular levels through the tenet of personalized medicine. Methods Gene expression profiles of four individual knee synovial tissues were downloaded from a comprehensive gene expression database, R language was used to screen for significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs), Gene Ontology Enrichment Analysis, Kyoto Gene Encyclopedia, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis were performed to analyze the biological functions and signaling pathways of these DEGs, STRING online database was used to establish protein-protein interaction networks, Cytoscape software to obtain ten hub genes, Goplot to get six inflammatory immune-related hub genes, and CIBERSORT algorithm to impute immune infiltration. Results Molecular pathways that play important roles in RA were obtained: Toll-like receptors, AMPK, MAPK, TNF, FoxO, TGF-beta, PI3K and NF-κB pathways, Ten hub genes: Ccr1, Ccr2, Ccr5, Ccr7, Cxcl5, Cxcl6, Cxcl13, Ccl13, Adcy2, and Pnoc. among which Adcy2 and Pnoc have not been reported in RA studies, suggesting that they may be worthy targets for further study. It was also found that among the synoviocytes in RA, the proportions of plasma cells, CD8 T cells, follicular helper T cells, monocytes, γ delta T cells, and M0 macrophages were higher, while the proportions of CD4 memory resting T cells, regulatory T cells (Tregs), activated NK cells, resting dendritic cells, M1 macrophages, eosinophils, activated mast cells, resting mast cells were lower in proportion, and each cell played an important role in RA. Conclusions This study may help understand the key genes, molecular pathways, the role of inflammatory immune infiltrating cells in RA’s pathogenesis and provide new targets and ideas for the diagnosis and personalized treatment of RA.

Author(s):  
Cong Luo ◽  
Zhixiong Liu ◽  
Wenrui Ye ◽  
Fangkun Liu

Background: Tumor microenvironment, especially infiltrating immune cell, is crucial for solid tumors including glioma. However, the hub genes as well as their effects on patient prognosis and immunotherapy efficacy remain obscure.Methods: We employed a total of 952 lower grade glioma (LGG) patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) databases, and 24 samples in our hospital for subsequent analyses. Abundances of immune infiltrates were evaluated using CIBERSORT and ImmuCellAI. Their correlations with prognosis were assessed by log-rank test. Immune infiltration-related hub genes were obtained from overlapped differential expressed genes (DEGs) in various subsets of survival-related immune cell types. The risk signature was constructed by Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis. The functional analyses were estimated by GVSA and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) algorithms. And protein–protein interaction enrichment analysis was carried out with the Metascape database integrating STRING, BioGrid, OmniPath, and InWeb_IM.Results: Among the 21 infiltrates, the abundances of five immune infiltrates were correlated with overall survival (OS) in LGG patients. Higher abundances of naïve CD4+ T cells (p = 0.002), activated mast cells (p = 0.015), and monocytes (p = 0.014) were correlated with better prognosis, while higher abundances of resting memory CD4+ T cells (p = 0.015) and M1 macrophages (p = 0.020) correlated with poorer OS. We finally obtained 44 hub genes and constructed an immune infiltration-related signature (IIRS). The IIRS correlates with clinicopathological characteristics and exhibited potential power in predicting the immunotherapy efficacy. The IRRS correlates with cancer related pathways, especially “epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT),” and cytotoxic T lymphocytes.Conclusion: Our study constructed and validated a novel signature for risk stratification and prediction of immunotherapy response in grade II and III gliomas, which was closely associated with glioma immune microenvironment and could serve as a promising prognostic biomarker for glioma patients.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Chen ◽  
Mingwei Yu ◽  
Jianqiao Cao ◽  
Huishan Zhao ◽  
Yuanping Dai ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Breast cancer (BC) is a malignancy with a high incidence among women in the world, and it is very urgent to identify significant biomarkers and molecular therapy methods.Methods: Total 58 normal tissues and 203 cancer tissues were collected from three Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) gene expression profiles, and the differential expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Subsequently, the Gene Ontology (GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) pathway were analyzed. Additionally, hub genes were screened by constructing a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Then, we explored the prognostic values and molecular mechanism of these hub genes Kaplan-Meier (KM) curve and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Results: 42 up-regulated and 82 down-regulated DEGs were screened out from GEO datasets. GO and KEGG pathway analysis revealed that DEGs were mainly related to cell cycles and cell proliferation. Furthermore, 12 hub genes (FN1, AURKA, CCNB1, BUB1B, PRC1, TPX2, NUSAP1, TOP2A, KIF20A, KIF2C, RRM2, ASPM) with a high degree of genes were selected, among which, 11 hub gene were significantly correlated with the prognosis of patients with BC. From GSEA reviewed correlated with KEGG_CELL_CYCLE and HALLMARK_P53_PATHWAY. Conclusion: this study identified 11 key genes as BC potential prognosis biomarkers on the basis of integrated bioinformatics analysis. This finding will improve our knowledge of the BC progress and mechanisms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yajuan Cao ◽  
Weikang Zhu ◽  
Wanqing Chen ◽  
Jianchun Wu ◽  
Guozhen Hou ◽  
...  

Objective. This study was aimed at investigating the prognostic significance of Baculoviral IAP repeat containing 5 (BIRC5) in lung adenocarcinoma (LAD) lacking EGFR, KRAS, and ALK mutations (triple-negative (TN) adenocarcinomas). Methods. The gene expression profiles were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The identification of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was performed by GeneSpring GX. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to execute gene ontology function and pathway enrichment analysis. The protein interaction network was constructed by Cytoscape. The hub genes were extracted by MCODE and cytoHubba plugin from the network. Then, using BIRC5 as a candidate, the prognostic value in LAD and TN adenocarcinomas was verified by the Kaplan-Meier plotter and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, respectively. Finally, the mechanism of BIRC5 was predicted by a coexpressed network and enrichment analysis. Results. A total of 38 upregulated genes and 121 downregulated genes were identified. 9 hub genes were extracted. Among them, the mRNA expression of 5 genes, namely, BIRC5, MCM4, CDC20, KIAA0101, and TRIP13, were significantly upregulated among TN adenocarcinomas (all P<0.05). Notably, only the overexpression of BIRC5 was associated with unfavorable overall survival (OS) in TN adenocarcinomas (log rank P=0.0037). TN adenocarcinoma patients in the BIRC5 high-expression group suffered from a significantly high risk of distant metastasis (P=0.046), advanced N stage (P=0.033), and tumor-bearing (P=0.031) and deceased status (P=0.003). The mechanism of BIRC5 and coexpressed genes may be linked closely with the cell cycle. Conclusion. Overexpressed in tumors, BIRC5 is associated with unfavorable overall survival in TN adenocarcinomas. BIRC5 is a potential predictor and therapeutic target in TN adenocarcinomas.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei ZHOU ◽  
Yaoyu LIU ◽  
Qinghong HU ◽  
Jiuyao ZHOU ◽  
Hua LIN

Abstract BackgroundIncreasing evidence suggests that immune cell infiltration contributes to the pathogenesis and progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN). We aim to unveil the immune infiltration pattern in the glomerulus of DN and provide potential targets for immunotherapy. MethodsInfiltrating percentage of 22 types of immune cell in the glomerulus tissues were estimated by the CIBERSORT algorithm based on three transcriptome datasets mined from the GEO database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by the “limma” package. Then immune-related DEGs were identified by intersecting DEGs with immune-related genes (downloaded from Immport database). The protein-protein interactions of Immune-related DEGs were explored using the STRING database and visualized by Cytoscape. The enrichment analyses for KEGG pathways and GO terms were carried out by the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) method. Results9 types of immune cell were revealed to be significantly altered in the glomerulus tissues of DN (Up: B cells memory, T cells CD4 naive, Macrophages M2, Dendritic cells resting, Mast cells resting, Mast cells activated; Down: NK cells resting, Monocytes, Neutrophils). Correlation analysis revealed that immune infiltration act as a complicated and tightly regulated network, among which T cells gamma delta and T cells CD4 naive show the most synergistic effect (r = 0.58, p < 0.001); meanwhile, T cells CD8 and T cells CD4 memory resting show the most competitive effect (r = - 0.67, p < 0.001). Several pathways related to immune were significantly activated. Moreover, 6 hub genes with a medium to strong correlation with renal function (eGFR) were identified (ALB, EGF, FOS, CXCR1, CXCR2, CCL2). ConclusionIn the glomerulus of DN, the immune infiltration pattern changed significantly. A complicated and tightly regulated network of immune cells exists in the pathological of DN. The hub genes identified here will facilitate the development of immunotherapy.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Baojie Wu ◽  
Shuyi Xi

Abstract Background This study aimed to explore and identify key genes and signaling pathways that contribute to the progression of cervical cancer to improve prognosis. Methods Three gene expression profiles (GSE63514, GSE64217 and GSE138080) were screened and downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened using the GEO2R and Venn diagram tools. Then, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to analyze the three gene expression profiles. Moreover, a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of the DEGs was constructed, and functional enrichment analysis was performed. On this basis, hub genes from critical PPI subnetworks were explored with Cytoscape software. The expression of these genes in tumors was verified, and survival analysis of potential prognostic genes from critical subnetworks was conducted. Functional annotation, multiple gene comparison and dimensionality reduction in candidate genes indicated the clinical significance of potential targets. Results A total of 476 DEGs were screened: 253 upregulated genes and 223 downregulated genes. DEGs were enriched in 22 biological processes, 16 cellular components and 9 molecular functions in precancerous lesions and cervical cancer. DEGs were mainly enriched in 10 KEGG pathways. Through intersection analysis and data mining, 3 key KEGG pathways and related core genes were revealed by GSEA. Moreover, a PPI network of 476 DEGs was constructed, hub genes from 12 critical subnetworks were explored, and a total of 14 potential molecular targets were obtained. Conclusions These findings promote the understanding of the molecular mechanism of and clinically related molecular targets for cervical cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Guoquan ◽  
Du Junwei ◽  
He Qi ◽  
Fu Xinghao ◽  
Ji Feihong ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundHashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, is a common autoimmune disease, which mainly occurs in women. The early manifestation was hyperthyroidism, however, hypothyroidism may occur if HT was not controlled for a long time. Numerous studies have shown that multiple factors, including genetic, environmental, and autoimmune factors, were involved in the pathogenesis of the disease, but the exact mechanisms were not yet clear. The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by comprehensive analysis and to provide specific insights into HT. MethodsTwo gene expression profiles (GSE6339, GSE138198) about HT were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The DEGs were assessed between the HT and normal groups using the GEO2R. The DEGs were then sent to the Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. The hub genes were discovered using Cytoscape and CytoHubba. Finally, NetworkAnalyst was utilized to create the hub genes' targeted microRNAs (miRNAs). ResultsA total of 62 DEGs were discovered, including 60 up-regulated and 2 down-regulated DEGs. The signaling pathways were mainly engaged in cytokine interaction and cytotoxicity, and the DEGs were mostly enriched in immunological and inflammatory responses. IL2RA, CXCL9, IL10RA, CCL3, CCL4, CCL2, STAT1, CD4, CSF1R, and ITGAX were chosen as hub genes based on the results of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and CytoHubba. Five miRNAs, including mir-24-3p, mir-223-3p, mir-155-5p, mir-34a-5p, mir-26b-5p, and mir-6499-3p, were suggested as likely important miRNAs in HT. ConclusionsThese hub genes, pathways and miRNAs contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of HT and offer potential treatment options for HT.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Shen ◽  
Li-rong Xu ◽  
Xiao Tang ◽  
Chang-po Lin ◽  
Dong Yan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects multiple arteries. Numerous studies have shown the inherent immune diversity in atheromatous plaques and suggest that the dysfunction of different immune cells plays an important role in atherosclerosis. However, few comprehensive bioinformatics analyses have investigated the potential coordinators that might orchestrate different immune cells to exacerbate atherosclerosis. Methods Immune infiltration of 69 atheromatous plaques from different arterial beds in GSE100927 were explored by single-sample-gene-set enrichment analysis (presented as ssGSEA scores), ESTIMATE algorithm (presented as immune scores) and CIBERSORT algorithm (presented as relative fractions of 22 types of immune cells) to divide these plaques into ImmuneScoreL cluster (of low immune infiltration) and ImmuneScoreH cluster (of high immune infiltration). Subsequently, comprehensive bioinformatics analyses including differentially-expressed-genes (DEGs) analysis, protein–protein interaction networks analysis, hub genes analysis, Gene-Ontology-terms and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, gene set enrichment analysis, analysis of expression profiles of immune-related genes, correlation analysis between DEGs and hub genes and immune cells were conducted. GSE28829 was analysed to cross-validate the results in GSE100927. Results Immune-related pathways, including interferon-related pathways and PD-1 signalling, were highly enriched in the ImmuneScoreH cluster. HLA-related (except for HLA-DRB6) and immune checkpoint genes (IDO1, PDCD-1, CD274(PD-L1), CD47), RORC, IFNGR1, STAT1 and JAK2 were upregulated in the ImmuneScoreH cluster, whereas FTO, CRY1, RORB, and PER1 were downregulated. Atheromatous plaques in the ImmuneScoreH cluster had higher proportions of M0 macrophages and gamma delta T cells but lower proportions of plasma cells and monocytes (p < 0.05). CAPG, CECR1, IL18, IGSF6, FBP1, HLA-DPA1 and MMP7 were commonly related to these immune cells. In addition, the advanced-stage carotid plaques in GSE28829 exhibited higher immune infiltration than early-stage carotid plaques. Conclusions Atheromatous plaques with higher immune scores were likely at a more clinically advanced stage. The progression of atherosclerosis might be related to CAPG, IGSF6, IL18, CECR1, FBP1, MMP7, FTO, CRY1, RORB, RORC, PER1, HLA-DPA1 and immune-related pathways (IFN-γ pathway and PD-1 signalling pathway). These genes and pathways might play important roles in regulating immune cells such as M0 macrophages, gamma delta T cells, plasma cells and monocytes and might serve as potential therapeutic targets for atherosclerosis.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e14544-e14544
Author(s):  
Eva Budinska ◽  
Jenny Wilding ◽  
Vlad Calin Popovici ◽  
Edoardo Missiaglia ◽  
Arnaud Roth ◽  
...  

e14544 Background: We identified CRC gene expression subtypes (ASCO 2012, #3511), which associate with established parameters of outcome as well as relevant biological motifs. We now substantiate their biological and potentially clinical significance by linking them with cell line data and drug sensitivity, primarily attempting to identify models for the poor prognosis subtypes Mesenchymal and CIMP-H like (characterized by EMT/stroma and immune-associated gene modules, respectively). Methods: We analyzed gene expression profiles of 35 publicly available cell lines with sensitivity data for 82 drug compounds, and our 94 cell lines with data on sensitivity for 7 compounds and colony morphology. As in vitro, stromal and immune-associated genes loose their relevance, we trained a new classifier based on genes expressed in both systems, which identifies the subtypes in both tissue and cell cultures. Cell line subtypes were validated by comparing their enrichment for molecular markers with that of our CRC subtypes. Drug sensitivity was assessed by linking original subtypes with 92 drug response signatures (MsigDB) via gene set enrichment analysis, and by screening drug sensitivity of cell line panels against our subtypes (Kruskal-Wallis test). Results: Of the cell lines 70% could be assigned to a subtype with a probability as high as 0.95. The cell line subtypes were significantly associated with their KRAS, BRAF and MSI status and corresponded to our CRC subtypes. Interestingly, the cell lines which in matrigel created a network of undifferentiated cells were assigned to the Mesenchymal subtype. Drug response studies revealed potential sensitivity of subtypes to multiple compounds, in addition to what could be predicted based on their mutational profile (e.g. sensitivity of the CIMP-H subtype to Dasatinib, p<0.01). Conclusions: Our data support the biological and potentially clinical significance of the CRC subtypes in their association with cell line models, including results of drug sensitivity analysis. Our subtypes might not only have prognostic value but might also be predictive for response to drugs. Subtyping cell lines further substantiates their significance as relevant model for functional studies.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 558-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sangmin Lee ◽  
Benjamin Garrett Vincent ◽  
Autumn Jackson McRee ◽  
Hanna Kelly Sanoff

558 Background: Different immune cell infiltrates into colorectal cancer (CRC) tumors are associated with different prognoses. Tumor-associated macrophages contribute to immune evasion and accelerated tumor progression. Conversely, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes at the invasive margin of CRC liver metastases are associated with improved outcomes with chemotherapy. Cetuximab is an IgG1 monoclonal antibody against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and stimulates antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) in vitro. However, it is unclear in humans if response to cetuximab is modulated by the immune response. We hypothesized that different immune patterns detected in gene expression profiles of CRC metastases are associated with different responses to cetuximab. Methods: We retrieved gene expression data from biopsies of metastases from 80 refractory CRC patients treated with cetuximab monotherapy (GEO GSE5851). Samples were dichotomized by cetuximab response as having either disease control (DC) or progressive disease (PD). We performed gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) with GenePattern 3.9.4 using gene sets of immunologic signatures obtained from the Molecular Signatures Database v5.0. Results: Among the 68 patients with response annotated, 25 had DC and 43 had PD. In the PD cohort, 59/1910 immunologic gene sets had false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.1. Notably, multiple gene sets upregulated in monocyte signatures were associated with PD. Also, gene sets consistent with PD1-ligated T cells compared to control activated T cells (FDR = 0.052) or IL4-treated CD4 T cells compared to controls (FDR = 0.087) were associated with PD. Conclusions: Cetuximab-resistant patients tended to have baseline increased expression of gene signatures reflective of monocytic infiltrates, consistent with also having increased expression of the IL4-treated T-cell signature. Cetuximab resistance was also associated with increased expression of the PD1-ligated T cell signature. These preliminary findings support further evaluation of the effect of differential immune infiltrates in prognosis of metastatic CRC treated with cetuximab.


2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (04) ◽  
pp. 783-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Yu Cheng ◽  
Shih-Lu Wu ◽  
Chien-Yun Hsiang ◽  
Chia-Cheng Li ◽  
Tung-Yuan Lai ◽  
...  

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used for thousands of years. Most Chinese herbal formulae consist of several herbal components and have been used to treat various diseases. However, the mechanisms of most formulae and the relationship between formulae and their components remain to be elucidated. Here we analyzed the putative mechanism of San-Huang-Xie-Xin-Tang (SHXXT) and defined the relationship between SHXXT and its herbal components by microarray technique. HepG2 cells were treated with SHXXT or its components and the gene expression profiles were analyzed by DNA microarray. Gene set enrichment analysis indicated that SHXXT and its components displayed a unique anti-proliferation pattern via p53 signaling, p53 activated, and DNA damage signaling pathways in HepG2 cells. Network analysis showed that most genes were regulated by one molecule, p53. In addition, hierarchical clustering analysis showed that Rhizoma Coptis shared a similar gene expression profile with SHXXT. These findings may explain why Rhizoma Coptis is the principle herb that exerts the major effect in the herbal formula, SHXXT. Moreover, this is the first report to reveal the relationship between formulae and their herbal components in TCM by microarray and bioinformatics tools.


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