Identification and analysis of key immunity-related genes in experimental ischemic stroke
Zekun Li,
Xiaohan Li,
Hongmin Guo,
Zibo Zhang,
Yihao Ge,
Fang Dong,
Fan Zhang,
Feng Zhang
Affiliations
Zekun Li
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050051, PR China
Xiaohan Li
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050051, PR China
Hongmin Guo
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050051, PR China
Zibo Zhang
Metabolic Diseases and Cancer Research Center, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050017, PR China
Yihao Ge
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050051, PR China
Fang Dong
Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050051, PR China
Fan Zhang
The Key Laboratory of Neural and Vascular Biology, Ministry of Education and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050017, PR China; Corresponding author. The Key Laboratory of Neural and Vascular Biology, Ministry of Education and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hebei Medical University, No. 361 Zhongshan East Road, 050017, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, PR China.
Feng Zhang
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050051, PR China; Corresponding author. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, No. 139 Ziqiang Road, 050051, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, PR China.
The regulation of the immune system and the occurrence of inflammation are vital factors in the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke. This study aims to screen target molecules which play key roles in alleviating the brain injury following ischemic stroke via regulating neuroinflammation. Several bioinformatics methods were used to identify immune-related genes in ischemic stroke. A total of 218 genes were identified as differentially expressed genes within the GSE97537 dataset. By performing GO, KEGG, and GSEA analyses, DEGs were mainly enriched in pathways related to immunity and inflammation. By utilizing the MCODE plugin in conjunction with Cytoscape software, a total of six crucial genes were identified, including C1qb, C1qc, Fcer1g, Fcgr3a, Tyrobp, and CD14. Based on the above crucial genes, 13 miRNAs were predicted. Furthermore, 71 potential drugs with therapeutic properties that target the crucial genes were screened, including lovastatin, ASPIRIN, and PREDNISOLONE. Moreover, the results of RT-qPCR showed that compared with Sham group, the expressions of C1qb, C1qc, Fcer1g, Fcgr3a, Tyrobp, and CD14 in MCAO group were significantly increased, which was consistent with the expression trend of validation dataset and training dataset. In conclusion, immune-related genes may play a key role in ischemic stroke. In addition, six crucial genes were identified as potential biomarkers and 71 promising drugs were screened to treat ischemic stroke patients.
