Integrative Expression Analyses Revealed Potential Biomarkers in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetically complex disorder. This study aimed to investigate the expression pattern of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and explore hub genes in HCM patients via in silico analysis. Methods: The GSE133054 and GSE36961 expression profiles were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database for the identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and to explore hub genes and their expression confirmation. Then, bioinformatics tools were employed to perform STRING, Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA)‑MicroRNA (miRNA)‑Messenger RNA (mRNA) regulatory network, gene enrichment, and drug prediction analyses. Results: Our results indicated a total of 495 DEGs, including 345 up-regulated and 150 down-regulated genes via differential expression analysis. From these DEGs, we subsequently identified 8 most important hub genes, including 4 up-regulated genes (COL14A1, UCP3, MOSPD1, and LUM) and 4 down-regulated genes (CAPNS1, GPX1, FLNB, and BCL3). Next, we further investigated hub genes regulatory 5 miRNAs (has-mir-16-5p, has-mir-107, has-mir-1-3p, has-mir-7b-5p, and has-mir-155-5p) and 6 lncRNAs (LINC0103, LINC00909, PCBP1-AS, TMEM147-AS1, XIST, and LINC00662) in this study via lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network. Later on, gene enrichment analysis revealed that hub genes were enriched in various important pathways including mitochondrial uncoupling proteins, the fatty acid cycling model, and the proton buffering model, etc. Finally, the drug prediction analysis highlighted different candidate potential drugs for altering the expression of hub genes in the treatment of HCM. Conclusions: A detailed in silico analysis was performed in this study to unravel the molecular regulatory mechanisms of HCM. The identified hub genes and their associated potential therapeutic drugs are predicted to be beneficial for treating HCM patients.