Bioinformatics prediction of molecular mechanism and intervention drugs of SARS-related immune injury and their significance for COVID-19 treatment

Abstract

Objective To investigate the omics mechanism of SARS-related immune injury and predict targeted therapeutic drugs through clinical bioinformatics analysis of the transcriptome data of SARS virus in order to provide reference for clinical treatment of COVID-19. Methods The transcriptome data of SARA virus were collected from the Gene Expression Oibus (GEO) and used to screen differential genes. Enrichment analysis and protein interaction analysis were performed to investigate the mechanism of immune damage associated with SARS. A platform of epigenetics in precision medicine (EpiMed) was established to predict potential therapeutic drugs. Results The mechanism of SARS-related immune injury was complex, involving affecting the function of immune cells through signaling pathways such as Toll-like receptors, increasing cytokines in plasma through Th17 signaling pathway and inducing autoimmune responses after autoantibodies were generated by molecules such as IL-6, NF-κB, and TNF. Drugs such as Chuanqiong and Etanercept might have therapeutic effects on SARS-related immune damage. Conclusions SARS virus could cause abnormal expression of many immune-related molecules and signaling pathways. Drugs such as Chuanqiong and Etanercept might have therapeutic effects on SARS-related immune damage. This study might provide reference for clinical treatment of COVID-19. Key words: SARS virus; COVID-19; Immune injury; Clinical bioinformatics; Drug prediction