Identification of RPS7 as the Biomarker of Ferroptosis in Acute Kidney Injury

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to explore novel ferroptosis-related biomarkers for acute kidney injury (AKI). METHODS: Various bioinformatic methods, such as differential expression analysis, functional annotation analysis, machine learning, and chemical-gene network analysis, were used in this study. Furthermore, the expression and proferroptotic role of RPS7 were validated with further bioinformatics analysis and biochemical experiments. RESULTS: GSE30718 dataset and GSE139061 dataset were used, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened. The DEGs were overlapped with ferroptosis-related genes and genes associated with AKI, which led to the identification of four candidate genes. Machine learning and ROC curve analysis were conducted, and RPS7 and TRIB3 were selected for diagnostic model analysis and functional analysis. Finally, the upregulation of RSP7 in cisplatin-induced AKI was validated in cisplatin-induced AKI, and its proferroptotic role was confirmed in cisplatin-treated proximal tubular cells. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that RPS7 might present as a novel ferroptosis-related biomarker for AKI, and it derived ferroptosis to accentuate cisplatin-induced AKI.