Bioinformatics analysis of biomarkers of aristolochic acid-induced early nephrotoxicity in embryonic stem cells

The present study aimed to identify key genes as potential biomarkers for early nephrotoxicity induced by aristolochic acid (AA) in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). An MTT assay was performed to determine the cytotoxicity of AA in ESCs. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using the DNA-Chip Analyzer following microarray analysis. Gene Ontology analysis was performed to determine functional terms enriched by the DEGs in the categories biological process, cellular component and molecular function. Furthermore, the DEGs were subjected to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis to determine pathways they were accumulated in. Furthermore, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed using Cytoscape 3.2 software. Tumor protein 53 apoptosis effector (Perp), cation transport regulator-like 1 (Chac1), adrenoceptor β2 and Wnt6 were selected for confirmation by reverse transcription-quantitative (RT-q) PCR analysis. A total of 72 DEGs (49 upregulated and 23 downregulated) were identified. The DEGs were enriched in functional terms and pathways associated with nephrotoxicity and participated in 92 pathways. A total of two hub genes, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (Fbp)1 and Fbp2, were filtered out from the interaction network. Perp and phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced protein 1 were demonstrated to have vital roles in the p53 signaling pathway which was indicated in the interaction network. The results of the RT-qPCR analysis were consistent with the microarray data. Taken together, the present study suggested that hub genes involved in the p53 pathway, including Fbp1, Fbp2 and Perp, may serve as potential biomarkers for early nephrotoxicity induced by AA.