Developing neural network diagnostic models and potential drugs based on novel identified immune-related biomarkers for celiac disease

BACKGROUND: As one of the most common intestinal inflammatory diseases, celiac disease (CD) is typically characterized by an autoimmune disorder resulting from ingesting gluten proteins. Although the incidence and prevalence of CD have increased over time, the diagnostic methods and treatment options are still limited. Therefore, it is urgent to investigate the potential biomarkers and targeted drugs for CD. METHODS: Gene expression data was downloaded from GEO datasets. Differential gene expression analysis was performed to identify the dysregulated immune-related genes. Multiple machine algorithms, including randomForest, SVM-RFE, and LASSO, were used to select the hub immune-related genes (HIGs). The immune-related genes score (IG score) and artificial neural network (ANN) were constructed based on HIGs. Potential drugs targeting HIGs were identified by using the Enrichr platform and molecular docking method. RESULTS: We identified the dysregulated immune-related genes at a genome-wide level and demonstrated their roles in CD-related immune pathways. The hub genes (MR1, CCL25, and TNFSF13B) were further screened by integrating several machine algorithms. Meanwhile, the CD patients were divided into distinct subtypes with either high- or low-immunoactivity using single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) and consensus clustering. By constructing IG score based on HIGs, we found that patients with high IG score were mainly attributed to high-immunoactivity subgroups, which suggested a strong link between HIGs and immunoactivity of CD patients. In addition, the novel constructed ANN model showed the sound diagnostic ability of HIGs. Mechanistically, we validated that the HIGs play pivotal roles in regulating CD's immune and inflammatory state. Through targeting the HIGs, we also found potential drugs for anti-CD treatment by using the Enrichr platform and molecular docking method. CONCLUSIONS: This study unveils the HIGs and elucidates the networks regulated by these genes in the context of CD. It underscores the pivotal significance of HIGs in accurately predicting the presence or absence of CD in patients. Consequently, this research offers promising prospects for the development of diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for CD. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40246-023-00526-z.