ceRNA network construction and identification of hub genes as novel therapeutic targets for age-related cataracts using bioinformatics

PeerJ

article

Yingying Hong¹  Jiawen Wu¹  Yang Sun¹  Shenghai Zhang¹  Yi Lu¹  Yinghong Ji¹ 

[1] Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Fudan University

关键词: Age-related cataract;    lncRNA;    ceRNA network;    Enrichment analysis;    Bioinformatics;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.15054

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe aim of this study is to investigate the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of age-related cataract (ARC).MethodsWe obtained the transcriptome datafile of th ree ARC samples and three healthy, age-matched samples and used differential expression analyses to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The differential lncRNA-associated competing endogenous (ceRNA) network, and the protein-protein network (PPI) were constructed using Cytoscape and STRING. Cluster analyses were performed to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms of the hub genes affecting ARC progression. To verify the immune status of the ARC patients, immune-associated analyses were also conducted.ResultsThe PPI network identified the FOXO1 gene as the hub gene with the highest score, as calculated by the Maximal Clique Centrality (MCC) algorithm. The ceRNA network identified lncRNAs H19, XIST, TTTY14, and MEG3 and hub genes FOXO1, NOTCH3, CDK6, SPRY2, and CA2 as playing key roles in regulating the pathogenesis of ARC. Additionally, the identified hub genes showed no significant correlation with an immune response but were highly correlated with cell metabolism, including cysteine, methionine, and galactose.DiscussionThe findings of this study may provide clues toward ARC pathogenic mechanisms and may be of significance for future therapeutic research.

【 授权许可】

CC BY