Bioinformatic screening of genes associated with giant cell arteritis and therapeutic agents

Abstract Objective To analyze the high-throughput sequencing data of giant cell arteritis by bioinformatics technology, to initially identify the core genes associated with giant cell arteritis and to explore potential therapeutic agents. Methods Gene expression profile (GSE174694) was obtained from the Gene Expression Database (GEO), and the differential genes were calculated, the differentially expressed genes were analyzed by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG), and the protein interaction network was constructed to obtain the core genes. Finally, drug correlation analysis (connectivity map, CMap) was used to identify small molecule drugs with potential therapeutic effects on giant cell arteritis. Results A total of 771 differentially expressed genes were screened, including 481 up-regulated and 290 down-regulated. The GO analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in cell surface receptor signaling pathway, T cell receptor signaling pathway, cell adhesion and intrinsic immune response, and the KEGG pathway analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in chemokine signaling pathway, Th17 cell differentiation and Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation. The KEGG pathway analysis showed that the differential genes were mainly involved in chemokine signaling pathway, Th17 cell differentiation and Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation. The protein interaction network was constructed to screen five core genes, PTPRC, FCGR2B, ITGAM, SPI1 and ITGB2, which were mainly involved in promoting T cell value-added and differentiation, inhibiting apoptosis, increasing cell adhesion and promoting inflammatory response. CMap analysis suggested that small molecules such as warfarin A and anisomycin have potential therapeutic effects on giant cell arteritis. The CMap analysis suggested the potential therapeutic effects of small molecules such as warfarin A and anisomycin on giant cell arteritis. Conclusion This study provides a holistic view of the gene transcriptome in giant cell arteritis, and the core genes and small molecule drugs screened may provide new ideas for the pathogenesis of giant cells and drug development.