Identification of key transcription factors in caerulein-induced pancreatitis through expression profiling data

The current study aimed to isolate key transcription factors (TFs) in caerulein-induced pancreatitis, and to identify the difference between wild type and Mist1 knockout (KO) mice, in order to elucidate the contribution of Mist1 to pancreatitis. The gene profile of GSE3644 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database then analyzed using the t-test. The isolated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were mapped into a transcriptional regulatory network derived from the Integrated Transcription Factor Platform database and in the network, the interaction pairs involving at least one DEG were screened. Fisher’s exact test was used to analyze the functional enrichment of the target genes. A total of 1,555 and 3,057 DEGs were identified in the wild type and Mist1KO mice treated with caerulein, respectively. DEGs screened in Mist1KO mice were predominantly enriched in apoptosis, mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling and other cancer-associated pathways. A total of 188 and 51 TFs associated with pathopoiesis were isolated in Mist1KO and wild type mice, respectively. Out of the top 10 TFs (ranked by P-value), 7 TFs, including S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2); minichromosome maintenance complex component 3 (Mcm3); cell division cycle 6 (Cdc6); cyclin B1 (Ccnb1); mutS homolog 6 (Msh6); cyclin A2 (Ccna2); and cyclin B2 (Ccnb2), were expressed in the two types of mouse. These TFs were predominantly involved in phosphorylation, DNA replication, cell division and DNA mismatch repair. In addition, specific TFs, including minichromosome maintenance complex component 7 (Mcm7); lymphoid-specific helicase (Hells); and minichromosome maintenance complex component 6 (Mcm6), that function in the unwinding of DNA were identified to participate in Mist1KO pancreatitis. The DEGs, including Cdc6, Mcm6, Msh6 and Wdr1 are closely associated with the regulation of caerulein-induced pancreatitis. Furthermore, other identified TFs were also involved in this type of regulation.