Step-by-Step Construction of Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis for Identifying Novel Biomarkers of Sepsis Occurrence and Progression

Abstract

Xianqiang Yu,1,* Cheng Qu,2,* Lu Ke,2 Zhihui Tong,2 Weiqin Li1,2 1Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Critical Care Medicine, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Weiqin Li Email [email protected]: Sepsis is the leading cause of death in critically ill patients. Although it is well known that the immune system plays a key role in sepsis, exactly how it works remains unknown.Methods: In our study, we used weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to screen out the immune-related genes that may play a critical role in the process of sepsis.Results: A total of three sepsis-related hub genes were screened for further verification. Subsequent analysis of immune subtypes suggested their potential predictive effect in the clinic.Conclusion: Our study shows that three immune-related genes CHMP1A, MED15 and MGAT1 are important biomarkers of sepsis. The screened genes may help to distinguish normal individuals from patients with different degrees of sepsis.Keywords: sepsis, gene co-expression network, biomarker, immune cell

Keywords

• sepsis
• gene co-expression network
• biomarker
• immune cell