Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology (May 2023)
Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Biomarkers for the Diagnosis and Management of Psoriasis Complicated with Depression
Abstract
Xichun Xia,1,2,* Hai Yu,3,* Yanxiang Li,2 Yunting Liang,1 Guangqiang Li,2 Fang Huang1 1Department of Dermatology, Zhuhai People’s Hospital (Zhuhai Hospital Affiliated with Jinan University), Jinan University, Zhuhai, 519050, People’s Republic of China; 2The Biomedical Translational Research Institute, Health Science Center (School of Medicine), Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510632, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Guangqiang Li, No. 601, West Huangpu Road, Tianhe, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510632, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 15521006500, Fax +8620-85226420, Email [email protected] Fang Huang, No. 79, Kangning Road, Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai, Guangdong, 519050, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13923373864, Fax +8620-85226420, Email [email protected]: Psoriasis is a systemic inflammatory disease, and the mechanism that links psoriasis to depression is still elusive. Hence, this study aimed to elucidate the potential pathogenesis of psoriasis and depression comorbidity.Methods: The gene expression profiles of psoriasis (GSE34248, GSE78097 and GSE161683) and depression (GSE39653) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) DataSets. Functional annotation, protein‐protein interaction (PPI) network and module construction, and hub gene identification and co-expression analysis were performed, following identification of the common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of psoriasis and depression.Results: A total of 115 common DEGs (55 up-regulated and 60 down-regulated) were identified between psoriasis and depression. Functional analysis indicated that T cell activation and differentiation were predominantly implicated in the potential pathogenesis of these two diseases. In addition, Th17 cell differentiation and cytokines is closely related to both. Finally, 17 hub genes were screened, including CTLA4, LCK, ITK, IL7R, CD3D, SOCS1, IL4R, PRKCQ, SOCS3, IL23A, PDGFB, PAG1, TGFA, FGFR1, RELN, ITGB5 and TNXB, which re-emphasized the importance of the immune system in psoriasis and depression.Conclusion: Our study reveals the common pathogenesis of psoriasis and depression. These common pathways and hub genes may apply to a molecular screening tool for depression in psoriasis patients, which could help dermatologists optimize patient management in routine care.Keywords: psoriasis, depression, bioinformatics, differentially expressed genes, hub genes
