Identifying changes in immune cells and constructing prognostic models using immune-related genes in post-burn immunosuppression

Background Burn patients are prone to infection as well as immunosuppression, which is a significant cause of death. Currently, there is a lack of prognostic biomarkers for immunosuppression in burn patients. This study was conducted to identify immune-related genes that are prognosis biomarkers in...

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Main Authors: Peng Wang, Zexin Zhang, Bin Yin, Jiayuan Li, Cheng Xialin, Wenqin Lian, Yingjun Su, Chiyu Jia
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2022-01-01
Series:PeerJ
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Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/12680.pdf
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author Peng Wang
Zexin Zhang
Bin Yin
Jiayuan Li
Cheng Xialin
Wenqin Lian
Yingjun Su
Chiyu Jia
author_facet Peng Wang
Zexin Zhang
Bin Yin
Jiayuan Li
Cheng Xialin
Wenqin Lian
Yingjun Su
Chiyu Jia
author_sort Peng Wang
collection DOAJ
description Background Burn patients are prone to infection as well as immunosuppression, which is a significant cause of death. Currently, there is a lack of prognostic biomarkers for immunosuppression in burn patients. This study was conducted to identify immune-related genes that are prognosis biomarkers in post-burn immunosuppression and potential targets for immunotherapy. Methods We downloaded the gene expression profiles and clinical data of 213 burn patients and 79 healthy samples from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Immune infiltration analysis was used to identify the proportion of circulating immune cells. Functional enrichment analyses were carried out to identify immune-related genes that were used to build miRNA-mRNA networks to screen key genes. Next, we carried out correlation analysis between immune cells and key genes that were then used to construct logistic regression models in GSE77791 and were validated in GSE19743. Finally, we determined the expression of key genes in burn patients using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results A total of 745 differently expressed genes were screened out: 299 were up-regulated and 446 were down-regulated. The number of Th-cells (CD4+) decreased while neutrophils increased in burn patients. The enrichment analysis showed that down-regulated genes were enriched in the T-cell activation pathway, while up-regulated genes were enriched in neutrophil activation response in burn patients. We screened out key genes (NFATC2, RORA, and CAMK4) that could be regulated by miRNA. The expression of key genes was related to the proportion of Th-cells (CD4+) and survival, and was an excellent predictor of prognosis in burns with an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.945. Finally, we determined that NFATC2, RORA, and CAMK4 were down-regulated in burn patients. Conclusion We found that NFATC2, RORA, and CAMK4 were likely prognostic biomarkers in post-burn immunosuppression and potential immunotherapeutic targets to convert Th-cell dysfunction.
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spelling doaj.art-1aabc9a920bd4bb58ac285f867c224f72023-12-02T21:37:43ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592022-01-0110e1268010.7717/peerj.12680Identifying changes in immune cells and constructing prognostic models using immune-related genes in post-burn immunosuppressionPeng Wang0Zexin Zhang1Bin Yin2Jiayuan Li3Cheng Xialin4Wenqin Lian5Yingjun Su6Chiyu Jia7Department of Burns and Plastic & Wound Repair Surgery, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaDepartment of Burns and Plastic & Wound Repair Surgery, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaDepartment of Burns and Plastic & Wound Repair Surgery, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaDepartment of Anesthesia Operation, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, ChinaDepartment of Burns and Plastic & Wound Repair Surgery, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaDepartment of Burns and Plastic & Wound Repair Surgery, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaDepartment of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Xi’an International Medical Center, Xi’an, Shaanxi, ChinaDepartment of Burns and Plastic & Wound Repair Surgery, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaBackground Burn patients are prone to infection as well as immunosuppression, which is a significant cause of death. Currently, there is a lack of prognostic biomarkers for immunosuppression in burn patients. This study was conducted to identify immune-related genes that are prognosis biomarkers in post-burn immunosuppression and potential targets for immunotherapy. Methods We downloaded the gene expression profiles and clinical data of 213 burn patients and 79 healthy samples from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Immune infiltration analysis was used to identify the proportion of circulating immune cells. Functional enrichment analyses were carried out to identify immune-related genes that were used to build miRNA-mRNA networks to screen key genes. Next, we carried out correlation analysis between immune cells and key genes that were then used to construct logistic regression models in GSE77791 and were validated in GSE19743. Finally, we determined the expression of key genes in burn patients using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results A total of 745 differently expressed genes were screened out: 299 were up-regulated and 446 were down-regulated. The number of Th-cells (CD4+) decreased while neutrophils increased in burn patients. The enrichment analysis showed that down-regulated genes were enriched in the T-cell activation pathway, while up-regulated genes were enriched in neutrophil activation response in burn patients. We screened out key genes (NFATC2, RORA, and CAMK4) that could be regulated by miRNA. The expression of key genes was related to the proportion of Th-cells (CD4+) and survival, and was an excellent predictor of prognosis in burns with an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.945. Finally, we determined that NFATC2, RORA, and CAMK4 were down-regulated in burn patients. Conclusion We found that NFATC2, RORA, and CAMK4 were likely prognostic biomarkers in post-burn immunosuppression and potential immunotherapeutic targets to convert Th-cell dysfunction.https://peerj.com/articles/12680.pdfPost-burn immunosuppressionPrognostic biomarkersTargets of immunotherapyImmune-related cellmiRNA
spellingShingle Peng Wang
Zexin Zhang
Bin Yin
Jiayuan Li
Cheng Xialin
Wenqin Lian
Yingjun Su
Chiyu Jia
Identifying changes in immune cells and constructing prognostic models using immune-related genes in post-burn immunosuppression
PeerJ
Post-burn immunosuppression
Prognostic biomarkers
Targets of immunotherapy
Immune-related cell
miRNA
title Identifying changes in immune cells and constructing prognostic models using immune-related genes in post-burn immunosuppression
title_full Identifying changes in immune cells and constructing prognostic models using immune-related genes in post-burn immunosuppression
title_fullStr Identifying changes in immune cells and constructing prognostic models using immune-related genes in post-burn immunosuppression
title_full_unstemmed Identifying changes in immune cells and constructing prognostic models using immune-related genes in post-burn immunosuppression
title_short Identifying changes in immune cells and constructing prognostic models using immune-related genes in post-burn immunosuppression
title_sort identifying changes in immune cells and constructing prognostic models using immune related genes in post burn immunosuppression
topic Post-burn immunosuppression
Prognostic biomarkers
Targets of immunotherapy
Immune-related cell
miRNA
url https://peerj.com/articles/12680.pdf
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