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Zhang ZQ, Wu WW, Chen JD, Zhang GY, Lin JY, Wu YK, Zhang Y, Su YA, Li JT, Si TM. Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis Reveals Essential Genes and Pathways in Bipolar Disorder. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:553305. [PMID: 33815158 PMCID: PMC8010671 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.553305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a major and highly heritable mental illness with severe psychosocial impairment, but its etiology and pathogenesis remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the essential pathways and genes involved in BD using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA), a bioinformatic method studying the relationships between genes and phenotypes. Using two available BD gene expression datasets (GSE5388, GSE5389), we constructed a gene coexpression network and identified modules related to BD. The analyses of Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways were performed to explore functional enrichment of the candidate modules. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was further constructed to identify the potential hub genes. Ten coexpression modules were identified from the top 5,000 genes in 77 samples and three modules were significantly associated with BD, which were involved in several biological processes (e.g., the actin filament-based process) and pathways (e.g., MAPK signaling). Four genes (NOTCH1, POMC, NGF, and DRD2) were identified as candidate hub genes by PPI analysis and CytoHubba. Finally, we carried out validation analyses in a separate dataset, GSE12649, and verified NOTCH1 as a hub gene and the involvement of several biological processes such as actin filament-based process and axon development. Taken together, our findings revealed several candidate pathways and genes (NOTCH1) in the pathogenesis of BD and call for further investigation for their potential research values in BD diagnosis and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen-Qing Zhang
- Xiamen Xianyue Hospital, Xiamen, China.,Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | | | | | - Guang-Yin Zhang
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Jing-Yu Lin
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yan-Kun Wu
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Institute of Mental Health, Hebei North University, Hebei, China
| | - Yun-Ai Su
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Ji-Tao Li
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Tian-Mei Si
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
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