Construction of microRNA and transcription factor regulatory network based on gene expression data in cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: Cardiomyopathy is a progressive myocardial disorder. Here, we attempted to reveal the possible mechanism of cardiomyopathy at the transcription level with the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) and transcription factors (TFs) taken into account. METHOD: We firstly identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between cardiomyopathy patients and controls with data from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database. DEGs were associated with the canonical pathways, molecular and cellular functions, physiological system development and function in the Ingenuity Knowledge Base by using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software. TFs and miRNAs that DEGs significantly enriched were identified and a double-factor regulatory network was constructed. RESULTS: A total of 1,680 DEGs were identified. The DEGs were enriched for various pathways, with glucocorticoid receptor signaling as the most significant. A double-factor regulatory network was constructed, including seven TFs and two miRNAs. A subnetwork under the regulation of MEF2C and SRF was also constructed to illustrate their regulatory effects on cardiac functions. CONCLUSION: Our results may provide new understanding of cardiomyopathy and may facilitate further therapeutic studies.