Identification of pathogenic genes and transcription factors in respiratory syncytial virus

Lei Li,Zhi Yi,Zhenfeng Song,Yong An Ni,Fang Wang

doi:10.1186/s12887-020-02480-4

Abstract

BackgroundRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of acute lower respiratory infections in children, especially bronchiolitis. Our study aimed to identify the key genes and upstream transcription factors in RSV.MethodsTo screen for RSV pathogenic genes, an integrated analysis was performed using the RSV microarray dataset in GEO. Functional annotation and potential pathways for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were further explored by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. We constructed the RSV-specific transcriptional regulatory network to identify key transcription factors for DEGs in RSV.ResultsFrom three GEO datasets, we identified 1059 DEGs (493 up-regulated and 566 down-regulated genes, FDR < 0.05 and |Combined.ES| > 0.8) between RSV patients and normal controls. GO and KEGG analysis revealed that ‘response to virus’ (FDR = 7.13E-15), ‘mitochondrion’ (FDR = 1.39E-14) and ‘Asthma’ (FDR = 1.28E-06) were significantly enriched pathways for DEGs. The expression of IFI27, IFI44, IFITM3, FCER1A, and ISG15 were shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of RSV.ConclusionsWe concluded that IFI27, IFI44, IFITM3, FCER1A, and ISG15 may play a role in RSV. Our finding may contribute to the development of new potential biomarkers, reveal the underlying pathogenesis and also identify novel therapeutic targets for RSV.

Highlights

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of acute lower respiratory infections in children, especially bronchiolitis
We identified the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and Transcription factor (TF) of RSV in this integrated analysis
Microarray expression profiling in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and identification of DEGs in RSV The gene expression profiles of children RSV were gained from GEO database with following key search terms: (“respiratory syncytial viruses”[MeSH Terms] OR Respiratory syncytial virus [All Fields]) AND “Homo sapiens”[porgn] AND “gse”[Filter]

Summary

Introduction

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of acute lower respiratory infections in children, especially bronchiolitis. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the major pathogen of acute lower respiratory infections in children under 5 years old [1,2,3]. RSV is an severe virus in adults, causing 25% of lethal respiratory infections in cold seasons, similar to the rate for seasonal influenza [4]. The severity of RSV infection is partly due to currently known risk factors, including medical complications and young age [7]. Most infants hospitalized for respiratory syncytial virus infection have reportedly been previously healthy and have no risk factors for serious illness [8, 9]. Currently known risk factors do not fully explain the significant variability of the severity of the disease

Methods

Results

Conclusion