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Tong X, Shen Q. Identification of immune-related regulatory networks and diagnostic biomarkers in thyroid eye disease. Int Ophthalmol 2024; 44:38. [PMID: 38332455 DOI: 10.1007/s10792-024-03017-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Thyroid eye disease (TED) is an orbit-associated autoimmune inflammatory disorder intricately linked to immune dysregulation. Complete pathogenesis of TED remains elusive. This work aimed to mine pathogenesis of TED from immunological perspective and identify diagnostic genes. METHODS Gene expression microarray data for TED patients were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus, immune-related genes (IRGs) were from ImmPort database, and TED-related transcription factors (TFs) were from Cirtrome Cancer database. Differential analysis, Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed. Regulatory networks of TFs and IRGs were constructed with Cytoscape. Diagnostic biomarkers in TED were identified through LASSO. Immune cell infiltration analysis was performed using CIBERSORT. RESULTS Twenty-three immune-related DEmRNAs were revealed and were primarily enriched in humoral immune response, positive regulation of inflammatory response, IL-17, and TNF pathways. Co-expression regulatory network included four TFs and 16 immune-related DEmRNAs. Seven diagnostic genes were identified, with Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.993 for training set and AUC value of 0.836 for validation set. TED patients exhibited elevated infiltration levels by macrophages M2, mast cells, and CD8 T cells among 22 immune cell types, whereas macrophages M2 and mast cells resting were significantly lower than normal group. CONCLUSIONS The seven feature genes had high diagnostic value for TED patients. Our work explored regulatory network and diagnostic biomarkers, laying theoretical basis for TED diagnosis and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangmei Tong
- The First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310002, China
- Department of General Surgery, The First People's Hospital of Tonglu County, Tonglu, 311500, China
| | - Qianyun Shen
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 79 Qingchun Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, 310002, China.
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Ren Z, Zhang H, Yu H, Zhu X, Lin J. Roles of four targets in the pathogenesis of graves' orbitopathy. Heliyon 2023; 9:e19250. [PMID: 37810014 PMCID: PMC10558314 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Graves' orbitopathy (GO) is an autoimmune disease that involves complex immune systems. The mainstays of clinical management for this disease are surgery, targeted drugs therapy, and no-targeted drugs drug therapy. targeted drugs can improve therapeutic efficacy and enhance the quality of life for GO patients. However, as a second-line treatment for GO, targeted drugs such as tocilizumab and rituximab have very limited therapeutic effects and may be accompanied by side effects. The introduction of Teprotumumab, which targets IGF-IR, has made significant progress in the clinical management of GO. The pathophysiology of GO still remains uncertain as it involves a variety of immune cells and fibroblast interactions as well as immune responses to relevant disease targets of action. Therfore, learning more about immune response feedback pathways and potential targets of action will assist in the treatment of GO. In this discussion, we explore the pathogenesis of GO and relevant work, and highlight four potential targets for GO: Interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23 R), Leptin receptor (LepR), Orbital fibroblast activating factors, and Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). A deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of GO and the role of potential target signaling pathways is crucial for effective treatment of this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziqiang Ren
- College of Life Sciences, Yantai University, Shandong, China
- Fengjin Biomedical Co., Ltd, Shandong, China
| | - Hailing Zhang
- College of Life Sciences, Yantai University, Shandong, China
| | - Haiwen Yu
- College of Life Sciences, Yantai University, Shandong, China
| | - Xiqiang Zhu
- Fengjin Biomedical Co., Ltd, Shandong, China
| | - Jian Lin
- College of Life Sciences, Yantai University, Shandong, China
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Zhang M, Chong KK, Chen ZY, Guo H, Liu YF, Kang YY, Li YJ, Shi TT, Lai KK, He MQ, Ye K, Kahaly GJ, Shi BY, Wang Y. Rapamycin improves Graves' orbitopathy by suppressing CD4+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes. JCI Insight 2023; 8:160377. [PMID: 36580373 PMCID: PMC9977423 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.160377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
CD4+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) were recently implicated in immune-mediated inflammation and fibrosis progression of Graves' orbitopathy (GO). However, little is known about therapeutic targeting of CD4+ CTLs. Herein, we studied the effect of rapamycin, an approved mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) inhibitor, in a GO mouse model, in vitro, and in patients with refractory GO. In the adenovirus-induced model, rapamycin significantly decreased the incidence of GO. This was accompanied by the reduction of both CD4+ CTLs and the reduction of orbital inflammation, adipogenesis, and fibrosis. CD4+ CTLs from patients with active GO showed upregulation of the mTOR pathway, while rapamycin decreased their proportions and cytotoxic function. Low-dose rapamycin treatment substantially improved diplopia and the clinical activity score in steroid-refractory patients with GO. Single-cell RNA-Seq revealed that eye motility improvement was closely related to suppression of inflammation and chemotaxis in CD4+ CTLs. In conclusion, rapamycin is a promising treatment for CD4+ CTL-mediated inflammation and fibrosis in GO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Zhang
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Kelvin K.L. Chong
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, The Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong, China
| | - Zi-yi Chen
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Hui Guo
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Yu-feng Liu
- Biobank of The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Yong-yong Kang
- Genome Institute and,Center for Mathematical Medical, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Yang-jun Li
- Department of Ophthalmology, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Ting-ting Shi
- Department of Endocrinology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Kenneth K.H. Lai
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.,Department of Ophthalmology, Tung Wah Eastern Hospital, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ming-qian He
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Kai Ye
- Genome Institute and,MOE Key Laboratory for Intelligent Networks & Network Security and,School of Automation Science and Engineering, Faculty of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China.,School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China.,Faculty of Science, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - George J. Kahaly
- Molecular Thyroid Lab, Department of Medicine I, Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | - Bing-yin Shi
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Yue Wang
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China.,Genome Institute and,MOE Key Laboratory for Intelligent Networks & Network Security and
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Wang Y, Shao Y, Zhang H, Wang J, Zhang P, Zhang W, Chen H. Comprehensive analysis of key genes and pathways for biological and clinical implications in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:630. [PMID: 36056316 PMCID: PMC9440526 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08854-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is a common and organ-specific autoimmune disease. Early diagnosis and novel treatments are essential to improve the prognosis of TAO patients. Therefore, the current work was performed to identify the key genes and pathways for the biological and clinical implications of TAO through comprehensive bioinformatics analysis and a series of clinical validations. Methods GSE105149 and GSE185952 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database for analysis. The data were normalized to identify the common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two datasets, and the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were conducted to assess key pathways in TAO. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks and hub genes among the common DEGs were identified. Furthermore, we collected the general information and blood samples from 50 TAO patients and 20 healthy controls (HCs), and the expression levels of the proteins encoded by hub genes in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Then we further assessed the relationship between the ELISA data and the TAO development. Results Several common pathways, including neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, the IL-17 signaling pathway, and the TNF signaling pathway, were identified in both datasets. In parallel, 52 common DEGs were identified. The KEGG analysis showed that these common DEGs are mainly enriched in long-term depression, the VEGF signaling pathway, the IL-17 signaling pathway, the TNF signaling pathway, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions. The key hub genes PRKCG, OSM, DPP4, LRRTM1, CXCL6, and CSF3R were screened out through the PPI network. As confirmation, the ELISA results indicated that protein expression levels of PRKCG, OSM, CSF3R, and DPP4 were significantly upregulated in TAO patients compared with HCs. In addition, PRKCG and DPP4 were verified to show value in diagnosing TAO, and CSF3R was found to be a valuable diagnostic marker in distinguishing active TAO from inactive TAO. Conclusions Inflammation- and neuromodulation-related pathways might be closely associated with TAO. Based on the clinical verification, OSM, CSF3R, CXCL6, DPP4, and PRKCG may serve as inflammation- or neuromodulation-related biomarkers for TAO, providing novel insights for the diagnosis and treatment of TAO. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-022-08854-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yueyue Wang
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yanfei Shao
- Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Haitao Zhang
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jun Wang
- Department of Toxicology, The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Friendship Hospital of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Ili & Jiangsu Joint Institute of Health, Ili, China
| | - Weizhong Zhang
- Department of Ophthalmology, The Friendship Hospital of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Ili & Jiangsu Joint Institute of Health, Ili, China. .,Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
| | - Huanhuan Chen
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
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Chen Z, Chen Z, Wang J, Zhang M, Wang X, Cuomu D, Shi B, Wang Y. Leptin receptor is a key gene involved in the immunopathogenesis of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy. J Cell Mol Med 2021; 25:5799-5810. [PMID: 33988300 PMCID: PMC8184729 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.16605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Revised: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Thyroid‐associated ophthalmopathy (TAO), the most common and severe manifestation of Graves' disease (GD), is a disfiguring and potentially blinding autoimmune disease. The high relapse rate (up to 20%) and substantial side effects of glucocorticoid treatment further decrease the life quality of TAO patients. To develop novel therapies, we amid to explore the immunopathogenesis of TAO. To identify the key immune‐related genes (IRGs) in TAO, we integrated the IRG expression profiles in thyrocytes from a GD patient set (GD vs healthy control) and a TAO patient set (TAO vs GD). Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), protein‐protein interaction (PPI) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses identified the leptin receptor (LEPR) gene as the key IRG in TAO immunopathogenesis. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) suggested enrichment of the antigen presentation pathway in TAO patients with higher LEPR. Increased LEPR expression was validated in TAO orbital tissues, and weighted gene co‐expression network analysis (WGCNA) showed that cell adhesion processes were positively correlated with LEPR. Our study revealed that LEPR is a key gene in TAO immunopathogenesis and plays different roles in thyrocytes and orbital tissues. Our findings provide new insights into diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers for TAO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyi Chen
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Zhe Chen
- Department of Spine Surgery, Hong Hui Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jingya Wang
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Meng Zhang
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xiaofei Wang
- Biomedical Experimental Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Deji Cuomu
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Bingyin Shi
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yue Wang
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.,MOE Key Lab for Intelligent Networks & Networks Security, School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.,Genome institute, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.,Precision Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
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