Abstract:
Climatic droplet keratopathy (CDK) is a corneal diseases, which is characterized by increased oil-like deposits on the anterior elastic lamina and anterior stromal layer. Severe CDK can even cause blindness, with no specific available treatment. Besides. CDK is poorly understood in terms of its pathogenic mechanisms. Thus, to determine potential biomarkers for CDK, we analyzed the microRNA expression profile in tear samples from CDK patients and investigated their putative roles in the pathogenesis of CDK. Herein, miRNA sequencing and following bioinformatics analysis was performed to explore the roles of their target genes in CDK. A total of 67 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified, of which 25 were upregulated and 42 were downregulated. qPCR verification showed that among the up- and down-regulated miRNAs, expression of five and six, respectively, was most significantly different.The target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs are involved in the FoxO signaling pathway, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway, and steroid hormone biosynthesis. Protein-protein interaction network analyses identified 20 hub genes, including PTEN, GSK3B, and SMAD3. In conclusion, the panel of differentially expressed miRNAs identified may have potential utility as early diagnostic biomarkers for CDK. Moreover, the TNF signaling pathway is a new potential target in CDK for the development of treatments.
摘要:
气候滴状角膜病变(CDK)是一种角膜疾病,其特征是前弹性层和前基质层上的油状沉积物增加。严重的CDK甚至会导致失明,没有具体的治疗方法。此外.CDK在其致病机制方面知之甚少。因此,为了确定CDK的潜在生物标志物,我们分析了CDK患者泪液样本中的microRNA表达谱,并研究了它们在CDK发病机制中的推定作用.在这里,进行miRNA测序和随后的生物信息学分析以探索其靶基因在CDK中的作用。共鉴定出67个差异表达的miRNA,其中25个上调,42个下调。qPCR验证表明,在上调和下调的miRNA中,五和六的表达,分别,是最显著的不同。差异表达miRNA的靶基因参与FoxO信号通路,肿瘤坏死因子(TNF)信号通路,和类固醇激素的生物合成。蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用网络分析确定了20个hub基因,包括PTEN,GSK3B,SMAD3总之,鉴定的差异表达miRNA组可能具有作为CDK早期诊断生物标志物的潜在效用.此外,TNF信号通路是CDK新的潜在治疗靶点。