Identification of key module and hub genes in pulpitis using weighted gene co-expression network analysis

BACKGROUND: Pulpitis is a common disease mainly caused by bacteria. Conventional approaches of diagnosing the state of dental pulp are mainly based on clinical symptoms, thereby harbor deficiencies. The accurate and rapid diagnosis of pulpitis is important for choosing the suitable therapy. The study aimed to identify pulpits related key genes by integrating micro-array data analysis and systems biology network-based methods such as weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). METHODS: The micro-array data of 13 inflamed pulp and 11 normal pulp were acquired from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). WGCNA was utilized to establish a genetic network and categorize genes into diverse modules. Hub genes in the most associated module to pulpitis were screened out using high module group members (MM) methods. Pulpitis model in rat was constructed and iRoot BP plus was applied to cap pulp. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used for validation of hub genes. RESULTS: WGCNA was established and genes were categorized into 22 modules. The darkgrey module had the highest correlation with pulpitis among them. A total of 5 hub genes (HMOX1, LOX, ACTG1, STAT3, GNB5) were identified. RT-qPCR proved the differences in expression levels of HMOX1, LOX, ACTG1, STAT3, GNB5 in inflamed dental pulp. Pulp capping reversed the expression level of HMOX1, LOX, ACTG1. CONCLUSION: The study was the first to produce a holistic view of pulpitis, screen out and validate hub genes involved in pulpitis using WGCNA method. Pulp capping using iRoot BP plus could reverse partial hub genes. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12903-022-02638-9.