Identification of AHNAK expression associated with the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by bioinformatic analysis.

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was a risk factor for lung cancer tumorigenesis. This study aimed to discover novel diagnostic biomarkers for COPD patients and determine their underlying pathogenetic mechanisms. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in COPD samples and normal controls were analyzed and utilized to construct a network associated with a high risk for COPD occurrence. Enrichment analysis was applied on the strength of Gene Ontology (GO) annotations and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. The RT-qPCR analysis was performed to determine 10 hub genes in COPD. ELISA assay was utilized to measure IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 levels. Spearman's correlation analysis was conducted to detect the correlation between inflammatory cytokines and AHNAK expression. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated by CCK-8 and flow cytometry assays. AHNAK was significantly increased in COPD serum samples compared with non-COPD smokers and strongly correlated with inflammation. AHNAK level could also discriminate COPD from non-COPD with high accuracy. AHNAK may be a feasible biomarker playing crucial functions in the diagnosis and progression of COPD.