AUTHOR=Luan Zhiwei , Zhang Jiayu , Wang Yansong 

TITLE=Identification of marker genes for spinal cord injury

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1364380

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2024.1364380

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a profoundly disabling and devastating neurological condition, significantly impacting patients’ quality of life. It imposes unbearable psychological and economic pressure on both patients and their families, as well as placing a heavy burden on society.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>In this study, we integrated datasets GSE5296 and GSE47681 as training groups, analyzed gene variances between sham group and SCI group mice, and conducted Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis based on the differentially expressed genes. Subsequently, we performed Weighted Gene Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA) and Lasso regression analyses.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>We identified four characteristic disease genes: <italic>Icam1</italic>, <italic>Ch25h</italic>, <italic>Plaur</italic> and <italic>Tm4sf1</italic>. We examined the relationship between SCI and immune cells, and validated the expression of the identified disease-related genes in SCI rats using PCR and immunohistochemistry experiments.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>In conclusion, we have identified and verified four genes related to SCI: <italic>Icam1</italic>, <italic>Ch25h</italic>, <italic>Plaur</italic> and <italic>Tm4sf1</italic>, which could offer insights for SCI treatment.</p></sec>