Key result
An XGBoost-based diagnostic model incorporating four hub genes (CXCL12, LTBP1, LOXL1, and IGFBP3) accurately identified atrial fibrillation with an AUC of 0.9385.
Why the study?
Underlying mechanisms of AF remain to be revealed, current treatment options have limitations, and detection systems are needed to identify individuals at risk.
Effect estimate: AUC 0.9385 (95% CI 0.9044-0.9725)
Integrative bioinformatics analysis identified key hub genes (including CXCL12) and potential therapeutic compounds for atrial fibrillation, alongside a machine learning-based diagnostic model.
Hypothesis-generating for gene-based atrial fibrillation diagnostics; requires prospective human validation before clinical consideration.
Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia and engenders significant global health care burden. The underlying mechanisms of AF is remained to be revealed and current treatment options for AF have limitations. Besides, a detection system can help identify those at risk of developing AF and will enable personalized management. Materials and Methods In this study, we utilized the robust rank aggregation method to integrate six AF microarray datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, and identified a set of differentially expressed genes between patients with AF and controls. Potential compounds were identified by mining the Connectivity Map database. Functional modules and closely-interacted clusters were identified using weighted gene co-expression network analysis and protein–protein interaction network, respectively. The overlapped hub genes were further filtered. Subsequent analyses were performed to analyze the function, biological features, and regulatory networks. Moreover, a reliable Machine Learning-based diagnostic model was constructed and visualized to clarify the diagnostic features of these genes. Results A total of 156 upregulated and 34 downregulated genes were identified, some of which had not been previously investigated. We showed that mitogen-activated protein kinase and epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors were likely to mitigate AF based on Connectivity Map analysis. Four genes, including CXCL12, LTBP1, LOXL1 , and IGFBP3 , were identified as hub genes. CXCL12 was shown to play an important role in regulation of local inflammatory response and immune cell infiltration. Regulation of CXCL12 expression in AF was analyzed by constructing a transcription factor-miRNA-mRNA network. The Machine Learning-based diagnostic model generated in this study showed good efficacy and reliability. Conclusion Key genes involving in the pathogenesis of AF and potential therapeutic compounds for AF were identified. The biological features of CXCL12 in AF were investigated using integrative bioinformatics tools. The results suggested that CXCL12 might be a biomarker that could be used for distinguishing subsets of AF, and indicated that CXCL12 might be an important intermediate in the development of AF. A reliable Machine Learning-based diagnostic model was constructed. Our work improved understanding of the mechanisms of AF predisposition and progression, and identified potential therapeutic avenues for treatment of AF.
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Yang et al. (2022) studied Atrial fibrillation (n=169). XGBoost diagnostic model (CXCL12, LTBP1, LOXL1, IGFBP3) vs. Sinus rhythm was evaluated on Diagnostic model discriminatory performance (AUC) (AUC 0.9385, 95% CI 0.9044-0.9725). An XGBoost-based diagnostic model incorporating four hub genes (CXCL12, LTBP1, LOXL1, and IGFBP3) accurately identified atrial fibrillation with an AUC of 0.9385.
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