Fu Lanyi, Yao Maolin, Liu Xuedong, Zheng Dong
Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Biology, College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.
Gene Rep. 2022 Jun;27:101597. doi: 10.1016/j.genrep.2022.101597. Epub 2022 Mar 18.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is ongoing. Individuals with sarcoidosis tend to develop severe COVID-19; however, the underlying pathological mechanisms remain elusive. To determine common transcriptional signatures and pathways between sarcoidosis and COVID-19, we investigated the whole-genome transcriptome of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with COVID-19 and sarcoidosis and conducted bioinformatic analysis, including gene ontology and pathway enrichment, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and gene regulatory network (GRN) construction. We identified 33 abnormally expressed genes that were common between COVID-19 and sarcoidosis. Functional enrichment analysis showed that these differentially expressed genes were associated with cytokine production involved in the immune response and T cell cytokine production. We identified several hub genes from the PPI network encoded by the common genes. These hub genes have high diagnostic potential for COVID-19 and sarcoidosis and can be potential biomarkers. Moreover, GRN analysis identified important microRNAs and transcription factors that regulate the common genes. This study provides a novel characterization of the transcriptional signatures and biological processes commonly dysregulated in sarcoidosis and COVID-19 and identified several critical regulators and biomarkers. This study highlights a potential pathological association between COVID-19 and sarcoidosis, establishing a theoretical basis for future clinical trials.
由严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）引起的冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行仍在持续。结节病患者往往会发展为重症COVID-19；然而，其潜在的病理机制仍不清楚。为了确定结节病和COVID-19之间共同的转录特征和途径，我们研究了COVID-19患者和结节病患者外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）的全基因组转录组，并进行了生物信息学分析，包括基因本体论和途径富集、蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用（PPI）网络以及基因调控网络（GRN）构建。我们鉴定出33个在COVID-19和结节病之间共同异常表达的基因。功能富集分析表明，这些差异表达基因与免疫反应中涉及的细胞因子产生以及T细胞细胞因子产生有关。我们从共同基因编码的PPI网络中鉴定出几个枢纽基因。这些枢纽基因对COVID-19和结节病具有较高的诊断潜力，可能成为潜在的生物标志物。此外，GRN分析确定了调控共同基因的重要微小RNA和转录因子。本研究提供了结节病和COVID-19中共同失调的转录特征和生物学过程的新特征，并鉴定出几个关键调节因子和生物标志物。本研究突出了COVID-19与结节病之间潜在的病理关联，为未来的临床试验奠定了理论基础。
