RESULTS: A total of 4125 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened out from the human primary RPE cells subjected to prolonged high glucose (HG). The subsequent bioinformatics analysis is divided into 3 steps. In Step 1, 21 genes were revealed by intersecting the enriched genes from the KEGG, WIKI, and Reactome databases. In Step 2, WGCNA was applied and intersected with the DEGs. Further intersection based on the enrichments with the GO biological processes, GO cellular components, and GO molecular functions databases screened out 12 candidate genes. In Step 3, 13 genes were found to be simultaneously up-regulated in the DEGs and a GEO dataset involving human diabetic retinal tissues. VEGFA and ERN1 were the 2 starred genes finally screened out by overlapping the 3 Steps.
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, multiple genes were identified as crucial in the pathological process of RPE under protracted HG, providing potential candidates for future researches on DR. The current study highlights the importance of RPE in DR pathogenesis.
结果:从长期高糖(HG)的人原代RPE细胞中筛选出4125个差异表达基因(DEGs)。后续的生物信息学剖析分为3步。在步骤1中,通过与来自KEGG的富集基因相交来揭示21个基因,WIKI,和Reactome数据库。在步骤2中,应用WGCNA并与DEG相交。基于与GO生物过程的富集的进一步交叉,GO细胞组件,和GO分子功能数据库筛选出12个候选基因。在步骤3中,发现13个基因在DEGs和涉及人糖尿病视网膜组织的GEO数据集中同时上调。VEGFA和ERN1是通过重叠3个步骤最终筛选出的2个星号基因。
结论:在这项研究中,多个基因被确定为在长期HG下RPE的病理过程中至关重要,为未来的DR研究提供潜在的候选人。目前的研究强调了RPE在DR发病机制中的重要性。