Identification of molecular mechanisms causing skin lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA)
Abstract Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease, caused by a protozoan parasite. Its most common form is cutaneous leishmaniasis, which leaves scars on exposed body parts from bites by infected female phlebotomine sandflies. Approximately 50% of cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis fail to respond to st...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023-06-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35868-0 |
| _version_ | 1797801420221579264 |
|---|---|
| author | Kavoos Momeni Saeid Ghorbian Ehsan Ahmadpour Rasoul Sharifi |
| author_facet | Kavoos Momeni Saeid Ghorbian Ehsan Ahmadpour Rasoul Sharifi |
| author_sort | Kavoos Momeni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease, caused by a protozoan parasite. Its most common form is cutaneous leishmaniasis, which leaves scars on exposed body parts from bites by infected female phlebotomine sandflies. Approximately 50% of cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis fail to respond to standard treatments, creating slow-healing wounds which cause permanent scars on the skin. We performed a joint bioinformatics analysis to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in healthy skin biopsies and Leishmania cutaneous wounds. DEGs and WGCNA modules were analyzed based on the Gene Ontology function, and the Cytoscape software. Among almost 16,600 genes that had significant expression changes on the skin surrounding Leishmania wounds, WGCNA determined that one of the modules, with 456 genes, has the strongest correlation with the size of the wounds. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that this module includes three gene groups with significant expression changes. These produce tissue-damaging cytokines or disrupt the production and activation of collagen, fibrin proteins, and the extracellular matrix, causing skin wounds or preventing them from healing. The hub genes of these groups are OAS1, SERPINH1, and FBLN1 respectively. This information can provide new ways to deal with unwanted and harmful effects of cutaneous leishmaniasis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:50:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1f9bdf86c7ad47009ddd06b20086dc86 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:50:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-1f9bdf86c7ad47009ddd06b20086dc862023-06-18T11:14:27ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-06-011311810.1038/s41598-023-35868-0Identification of molecular mechanisms causing skin lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA)Kavoos Momeni0Saeid Ghorbian1Ehsan Ahmadpour2Rasoul Sharifi3Department of Molecular Genetics, Ahar Branch, Islamic Azad UniversityDepartment of Molecular Genetics, Ahar Branch, Islamic Azad UniversityInfectious and Tropical Disease Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Basic Science, Ahar Branch, Islamic Azad UniversityAbstract Leishmaniasis is an infectious disease, caused by a protozoan parasite. Its most common form is cutaneous leishmaniasis, which leaves scars on exposed body parts from bites by infected female phlebotomine sandflies. Approximately 50% of cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis fail to respond to standard treatments, creating slow-healing wounds which cause permanent scars on the skin. We performed a joint bioinformatics analysis to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in healthy skin biopsies and Leishmania cutaneous wounds. DEGs and WGCNA modules were analyzed based on the Gene Ontology function, and the Cytoscape software. Among almost 16,600 genes that had significant expression changes on the skin surrounding Leishmania wounds, WGCNA determined that one of the modules, with 456 genes, has the strongest correlation with the size of the wounds. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that this module includes three gene groups with significant expression changes. These produce tissue-damaging cytokines or disrupt the production and activation of collagen, fibrin proteins, and the extracellular matrix, causing skin wounds or preventing them from healing. The hub genes of these groups are OAS1, SERPINH1, and FBLN1 respectively. This information can provide new ways to deal with unwanted and harmful effects of cutaneous leishmaniasis.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35868-0 |
| spellingShingle | Kavoos Momeni Saeid Ghorbian Ehsan Ahmadpour Rasoul Sharifi Identification of molecular mechanisms causing skin lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) Scientific Reports |
| title | Identification of molecular mechanisms causing skin lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) |
| title_full | Identification of molecular mechanisms causing skin lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) |
| title_fullStr | Identification of molecular mechanisms causing skin lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identification of molecular mechanisms causing skin lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) |
| title_short | Identification of molecular mechanisms causing skin lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) |
| title_sort | identification of molecular mechanisms causing skin lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis using weighted gene coexpression network analysis wgcna |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35868-0 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kavoosmomeni identificationofmolecularmechanismscausingskinlesionsofcutaneousleishmaniasisusingweightedgenecoexpressionnetworkanalysiswgcna AT saeidghorbian identificationofmolecularmechanismscausingskinlesionsofcutaneousleishmaniasisusingweightedgenecoexpressionnetworkanalysiswgcna AT ehsanahmadpour identificationofmolecularmechanismscausingskinlesionsofcutaneousleishmaniasisusingweightedgenecoexpressionnetworkanalysiswgcna AT rasoulsharifi identificationofmolecularmechanismscausingskinlesionsofcutaneousleishmaniasisusingweightedgenecoexpressionnetworkanalysiswgcna |