Weighted gene co-expression network analysis reveals that CXCL10, IRF7, MX1, RSAD2, and STAT1 are related to the chronic stage of spinal cord injury

BACKGROUND: The process of spinal cord injury involves acute, subacute, and chronic stages; however, the specific pathological mechanism remains unclear. In this study, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to clarify specific modules and hub genes that associated with SCI. METHODS: The gene expression profiles GEO Series (GSE)45006 and GEO Series (GSE)2599 were downloaded, and the co-expression network modules were identified by the WGCNA package. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and Venn diagram were constructed to identify hub genes. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) was used to quantify the degree of the top five candidate genes. Correlation analysis was also carried out between hub genes and immune infiltration. RESULTS: In total, 14,402 genes and seven modules were identified. The brown module was considered to be the most critical module for the chronic stage of SCI, which contained 775 genes that were primarily associated with various biological processes, including extracellular structure organization, lysosome, isoprenoid biosynthesis, response to nutrients, response to wounding, sulfur compound metabolic process, cofactor metabolic process, and ossification. Furthermore, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10), myxovirus (influenza virus) resistance 1 (MX1), signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1), interferon regulatory factor 7 (IRF7) and radical S-adenosyl methionine domain containing 2 (RSAD2) were identified as the hub genes in the PPI and Venn diagram network, and verified by qRT-PCR. Immune infiltration analysis revealed that CD8+ T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, plasmacytoid dendritic cells, helper T cells, Th2 cells, and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes may be involved in the SCI process. CONCLUSIONS: There were significant differences among the five hub genes (CXCL10, IRF7, MX1, RSAD2, and STAT1) of the brown module, which may be potential diagnostic and prognostic markers of SCI, and immune cell infiltration may play an important role in the chronic stage of SCI.