Weighted gene co-expression network analysis identifies dysregulated B-cell receptor signaling pathway and novel genes in pulmonary arterial hypertension

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating cardio-pulmonary vascular disease in which chronic elevated pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular remodeling lead to right ventricular failure and premature death. However, the exact molecular mechanism causing PAH remains unclear. METHODS: RNA sequencing was used to analyze the transcriptional profiling of controls and rats treated with monocrotaline (MCT) for 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was employed to identify the key modules associated with the severity of PAH. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed to explore the potential biological processes and pathways of key modules. Real-time PCR and western blot analysis were used to validate the gene expression. The hub genes were validated by an independent dataset obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. RESULTS: A total of 26 gene modules were identified by WGCNA. Of these modules, two modules showed the highest correlation with the severity of PAH and were recognized as the key modules. GO analysis of key modules showed the dysregulated inflammation and immunity, particularly B-cell-mediated humoral immunity in MCT-induced PAH. KEGG pathway analysis showed the significant enrichment of the B-cell receptor signaling pathway in the key modules. Pathview analysis revealed the dysregulation of the B-cell receptor signaling pathway in detail. Moreover, a series of humoral immune response-associated genes, such as BTK, BAFFR, and TNFSF4, were found to be differentially expressed in PAH. Additionally, five genes, including BANK1, FOXF1, TLE1, CLEC4A1, and CLEC4A3, were identified and validated as the hub genes. CONCLUSION: This study identified the dysregulated B-cell receptor signaling pathway, as well as novel genes associated with humoral immune response in MCT-induced PAH, thereby providing a novel insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying inflammation and immunity and therapeutic targets for PAH.