Identification of pathways and key genes in male late-stage carotid atherosclerosis using bioinformatics analysis

Late-stage carotid atherosclerosis has a high incidence rate and may lead to various cerebrovascular diseases. The gene expression profile GSE100927 was selected to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in carotid atherosclerosis. Subsequently, protein-protein interaction, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses were conducted. Furthermore, experimental verification was performed using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (HAVSMCs) and Tohoku Hospital Pediatrics-1 (THP-1)-induced macrophages. The groups were as follows: Control group, solvent control group and palmitic acid group. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the three cell types were detected by flow cytometry or fluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, apoptosis of HUVECs and HAVSMCs was assessed by flow cytometry and the nuclear Hoechst 33258 staining of THP-1-induced macrophages was performed. Male late-stage carotid atherosclerosis samples, including 10 control samples and 21 atherosclerosis samples, were selected. Pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that ‘Toll-like receptor signaling pathway’ was the top pathway associated with the DEGs. MMP7, MMP9, IL1β, C-C motif chemokine ligand 4 (CCL4), secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), CCL3 and interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) were selected for experimental verification. Palmitic acid increased the ROS levels and the apoptosis rates of HUVECs and HAVSMCs. However, it did not increase the levels of ROS and did not shrink the nuclei of THP-1-induced macrophages. Furthermore, palmitic acid increased the mRNA levels of IL1β, CCL4, SPP1, CCL3, IRF5, MMP7 and MMP9 in HUVECs and THP-1-induced macrophages, and increased the mRNA levels of CCL4 and MMP9 in HAVSMCs. In conclusion, IL1β, CCL3, CCL4, SPP1, IRF5, MMP7 and MMP9 are important markers of late-stage carotid atherosclerosis.