Wang D, Wang Z J, Song X X, Pu L H, Li X, Wang Y
Department of Neurology, Xi'an Children's Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
Genet Mol Res. 2013 Oct 10;12(4):4480-8. doi: 10.4238/2013.October.10.13.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which is caused by mutations in the X-linked dystrophin gene, is a severe and progressive neuromuscular disease with no available cure. By integrating 2 microarray datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus, we identified differentially expressed genes in 2 stages of DMD and systematically explored their potential disease-related mechanisms using a network view. Twenty differentially expressed genes were detected in various stages of DMD. According to the network with dystrophin as its center, none of the 20 proteins interacts with dystrophin directly. IQ motif-containing GTPase-activating protein 1 was found in the 2nd-level neighbors with a degree of 21. Microtubule-associated protein tau, membrane metallo-endopeptidase, interleukin 13 receptor alpha 1, and multiple epidermal growth factor-like domains 6 were found in the 3rd-level neighbors. These identifications require further investigation, as this report is the first of possible associations between DMD and these proteins. Analysis of differentially expressed genes through this network view may provide important information for further exploration of underlying mechanisms of DMD.
杜兴氏肌肉营养不良症（DMD）由X连锁肌营养不良蛋白基因突变引起，是一种严重的进行性神经肌肉疾病，目前尚无治愈方法。通过整合来自基因表达综合数据库的两个微阵列数据集，我们确定了DMD两个阶段中差异表达的基因，并使用网络视图系统地探索了它们潜在的疾病相关机制。在DMD的各个阶段检测到20个差异表达基因。根据以肌营养不良蛋白为中心的网络，这20种蛋白质中没有一种与肌营养不良蛋白直接相互作用。含IQ模体的GTP酶激活蛋白1在二级邻居中被发现，连接度为21。微管相关蛋白tau、膜金属内肽酶、白细胞介素13受体α1和多个表皮生长因子样结构域6在三级邻居中被发现。这些发现需要进一步研究，因为本报告首次提出了DMD与这些蛋白质之间可能存在的关联。通过这种网络视图分析差异表达基因可能为进一步探索DMD的潜在机制提供重要信息。
