Key result
Novel leukocyte gene coexpression module correlates strongly with aortic dissection.
Why the study?
Although the clinical pathology of aortic dissection is well understood, its molecular mechanisms remain unclear.
What are the crucial genes and molecular mechanisms associated with aortic dissection?
Case-Control (n=19)
No
What are the crucial genes and molecular mechanisms associated with aortic dissection?
Five hub genes (AGFG1, MCEMP1, IRAK3, KCNE1, and CLEC4D) were identified as highly connected and strongly linked with aortic dissection, highlighting the potential involvement of the immune system in its pathogenesis.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Hub genes linked to aortic dissection support immune pathway exploration; hypothesis-generating and should not yet change practice.
BACKGROUND: Aortic dissection (AD) is a lethal vascular disease with high mortality and morbidity. Though AD clinical pathology is well understood, its molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Specifically, gene expression profiling helps illustrate the potential mechanism of aortic dissection in terms of gene regulation and its modification by risk factors. This study was aimed at identifying the genes and molecular mechanisms in aortic dissection through bioinformatics analysis. METHOD: Nine patients with AD and 10 healthy controls were enrolled. The gene expression in peripheral mononuclear cells was profiled through next-generation RNA sequencing. Analyses including differential expressed gene (DEG) via DEGseq, weighted gene coexpression network (WGCNA), and VisANT were performed to identify crucial genes associated with AD. The Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) was also utilized to analyze Gene Ontology (GO). RESULTS: DEG analysis revealed that 1,113 genes were associated with AD. Of these, 812 genes were markedly reduced, whereas 301 genes were highly expressed, in AD patients. DEGs were rich in certain categories such as MHC class II receptor activity, MHC class II protein complex, and immune response genes. Gene coexpression networks via WGCNA identified 3 gene hub modules, with one positively and 2 negatively correlated with AD, respectively. Specifically, module 37 was the most strongly positively correlated with AD with a correlation coefficient of 0.72. Within module 37, five hub genes (AGFG1, MCEMP1, IRAK3, KCNE1, and CLEC4D) displayed high connectivity and may have clinical significance in the pathogenesis of AD. CONCLUSION: Our analysis provides the possible association of specific genes and gene modules for the involvement of the immune system in aortic dissection. AGFG1, MCEMP1, IRAK3, KCNE1, and CLEC4D in module M37 were highly connected and strongly linked with AD, suggesting that these genes may help understand the pathogenesis of aortic dissection.
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Zhang et al. (2022) conducted a case-control in Aortic dissection (n=19). Aortic dissection vs. Healthy controls was evaluated on Correlation between gene expression modules and aortic dissection (r=0.72 (for module 37), p=<0.05). Weighted gene coexpression network analysis revealed 1,113 differentially expressed genes and identified module 37 (containing hub genes AGFG1, MCEMP1, IRAK3, KCNE1, and CLEC4D) as strongly correlated with aortic dissection (r=0.72).
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