In Silico Identification and Validation of Pyroptosis-Related Genes in Chlamydia Respiratory Infection.

The incidence of respiratory infection is increasing, and its pathogenesis is still unclear. Pyroptosis, as a mode of inflammatory cell death, plays a vital role in the occurrence and development of respiratory infection. In this study, the potential pyroptosis-related genes involved in respiratory infection were identified by constructing a mouse model of infection combined with bioinformatics analysis. Through in-depth analysis of the RNA sequencing data, 13 differentially expressed pyroptosis-related genes were screened, including 1 downregulated gene and 12 upregulated genes. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that these genes mainly regulate inflammatory responses and produce IL-1β. Protein-protein interaction network analysis identified eight hub genes of interest: , , , , , , and . Through quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis, we found that the expression of these genes in the lungs of -infected mice was significantly reduced, consistent with the bioinformatics results. At the same time, we detected elevated levels of caspase-3, gasdermin D and gasdermin E proteins in the lungs of -infected mice, demonstrating that infection does induce pyroptosis. We then predicted nine miRNAs targeting these hub genes and constructed a key competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. In summary, we identified six key pyroptosis-related genes involved in respiratory infection and constructed a ceRNA network associated with these genes. These findings will improve understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying pyroptosis in respiratory infections.