CeRNA network analysis and functional enrichment of salt sensitivity of blood pressure by weighted-gene co-expression analysis

PeerJ

article

Han Cao¹  Han Qi²  Zheng Liu³  Wen-Juan Peng¹  Chun-Yue Guo¹  Yan-Yan Sun¹  Christine Pao⁴  Yu-Tao Xiang⁵  Ling Zhang¹ 

[1] Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, and Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology;The National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders & the Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Beijing Anding Hospital, School of Mental Health, Capital Medical University;Science Department, Peking University People’s Hospital;Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;Unit of Psychiatry, Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau

关键词: Competitive endogenous RNAs;    Gene set enrichment analysis;    Long non-coding RNAs;    Salt sensitivity of blood pressure;    Weighted gene co-expression network analysis;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.7534

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSalt sensitivity of blood pressure (SSBP) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The pathogenic mechanisms of SSBP are still uncertain. This study aimed to construct the co-regulatory network of SSBP and data mining strategy based on the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) theory.MethodsLncRNA and mRNA microarray was performed to screen for candidate RNAs. Four criteria were used to select the potential differently expressed RNAs. The weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) package of R software and target miRNA and mRNA prediction online databases were used to construct the ceRNA co-regulatory network and discover the pathways related to SSBP. Gene ontology enrichment, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and KEGG pathway analysis were performed to explore the functions of hub genes in networks.ResultsThere were 274 lncRNAs and 36 mRNAs that differently expressed between salt-sensitive and salt-resistant groups (P < 0.05). Using WGCNA analysis, two modules were identified (blue and turquoise). The blue module had a positive relationship with salt-sensitivity (R = 0.7, P < 0.01), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (R = 0.53, P = 0.02), and total cholesterol (TC) (R = 0.55, P = 0.01). The turquoise module was positively related with triglyceride (TG) (R = 0.8, P < 0.01) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (R = 0.54, P = 0.01). Furthermore, 84 ceRNA loops were identified and one loop may be of great importance for involving in pathogenesis of SSBP. KEGG analysis showed that differently expressed mRNAs were mostly enriched in the SSBP-related pathways. However, the enrichment results of GSEA were mainly focused on basic physical metabolic processes.ConclusionThe microarray data mining process based on WGCNA co-expression analysis had identified 84 ceRNA loops that closely related with known SSBP pathogenesis. The results of our study provide implications for further understanding of the pathogenesis of SSBP and facilitate the precise diagnosis and therapeutics.

【 授权许可】

CC BY