Abstract:Objective: To perform a bioinformatics analysis of the gene chip associated with spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats, so as to provide new ideas for clarifying the molecular mechanism of secondary SCI. Methods: Firstly, data sets GSE464 and GSE45006 of rat SCI mRNA expression profile were downloaded from the GEO database. The R language limma package was used to screen differential expression genes (DEGs) of injured and normal spinal cord and obtain the intersection. Then GO, KEGG and GSEA analyses were performed. Subsequently, the STRING online tool and Cytoscape software were used to construct and visualize a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and the cytoHubba plug-in was used to select the hub gene. Finally, the GOSemSim package was used to predict interactions between proteins encoded by the hub gene. Results: A total of 226 DEGs were screened. Functional annotation and pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were mainly involved in biological processes (BP), which contained response of cells to inflammation, regulation of ions, regeneration and repair; mainly participated in the main cellular components (CC) including presynaptic membrane, axonal ends and neuron projection endpoints; mediated the molecular function (MF): ATP phosphorylation, structural composition of the cytoskeleton, and binding to calcium-dependent proteins. Enriched pathways were mainly TNF, AGE-RAGE, NF-κB and Toll-like receptors. A total of 10 hub genes were obtained, namely Tubb5, Prkcd, Anxa2, Gns, Fabp5, Ctsc, Lyz2, Gusb, Vat1, and Grn, and were closely related with SCI. Among them, Prkcd, Ctsc, Vat1, Gns and Lyz2 genes in SCI lacked studies, and were worthy of further study. Conclusion: This study identifies hub genes and signaling pathways that may be involved in secondary SCI, and provides a new theoretical basis for the molecular mechanism of secondary SCI.
