Identification of key genes and pathways in abdominal aortic aneurysm by integrated bioinformatics analysis

OBJECTIVES: To identify key genes associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) by integrating a microarray profile and a single-cell RNA-seq dataset. METHODS: The microarray profile of GSE7084 and the single-cell RNA-seq dataset were obtained from the Gene Express Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were chosen using the R package and annotated by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomics analysis. The hub genes were identified based on their degrees of interaction in the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Expression of hub genes was determined using single-cell RNA-seq analysis. RESULTS: In total, 507 upregulated and 842 downregulated DEGs were identified and associated with AAA. The upregulated DEGs were enriched into 9 biological processes and 10 biological pathways, which were closely involved in the pathogenesis and progression of AAA. Based on the PPI network, we focused on six hub genes, four of which were novel target genes compared with the known aneurysm gene database. Using single-cell RNA-seq analysis, we explored the four genes expressed in vascular cells of AAA: CANX, CD44, DAXX, and STAT1. CONCLUSIONS: We identified key genes that may provide insight into the mechanism of AAA pathogenesis and progression and that have potential to be therapeutic targets.