Integrative analyses of immune-related biomarkers and associated mechanisms in coronary heart disease

Various studies showed that the effect of immune activation is pro-atherogenic and coronary heart disease (CHD) should therefore be considered an autoimmune disease. This study aimed to identify potential immune-related biomarkers, pathways, and the potential regulatory networks underlying CHD. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between CHD and control samples were determined by analyzing GSE71226 and GSE9128. The overlapping differential expression immune-related genes (DE-IRGs) for CHD were identified by analyzing the ImmPort database and two GEO databases. A total of 384 DE-IRGs were identified. Subsequently, comprehensive enrichment analyses suggested that DE-IRGs were enriched in immune-related pathways, including autoimmune thyroid disease, the intestinal immune network for IGA production, and downstream signaling events of B cell receptors. The signature of DE-IRGs was validated using an external independent dataset GSE20681 (AUC = 0.875). Furthermore, we conducted protein–protein interaction network analysis and identified eight hub genes, which were most enriched in regulation of defense response, NF-κB signaling pathway, regulation of JNK cascade, and regulation of cytokine production. Moreover, networks of miRNAs-mRNAs and transcription factors (TFs)-mRNA underlying the integrated data were established, involving eight miRNAs and 76 TF-targeting hub genes. Ultimately, 17 SNPs in miRNA-mediated gene networks were identified. We screened potential immune-related genes in CHD and constructed miRNA-mRNA-TF and SNP-miRNA networks, which not only provide inspired insights into the occurrence and the molecular mechanisms of CHD but also lay a foundation for targeting potential biomarkers using immunotherapy and for understanding the molecular mechanisms of CHD.