Screening and functional pathway analysis of genes associated with pediatric allergic asthma using a DNA microarray

Area of Science:

• Genomics
• Immunology
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Pediatric allergic asthma is a complex respiratory condition with incompletely understood pathogenesis.
• Gene expression profiling offers insights into molecular mechanisms underlying diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in pediatric allergic asthma.
• To analyze the functional pathways of identified DEGs to elucidate disease pathogenesis.
• To explore potential therapeutic targets for pediatric allergic asthma.

Main Methods:

• Downloaded and preprocessed the GSE18965 gene expression profile from the Gene Expression Omnibus database.
• Screened DEGs between normal and pediatric allergic asthma samples using the limma package in R (FDR <0.05, log fold change >1).
• Performed functional enrichment analysis on DEGs using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery.

Main Results:

• Identified 127 DEGs between normal and pediatric allergic asthma samples.
• Up- and downregulated genes were significantly enriched in actin filament-based and monosaccharide metabolic processes, respectively.
• Identified seven downregulated DEGs (M6PR, TPP1, GLB1, NEU1, ACP2, LAMP1, HGSNAT) in the lysosomal pathway (P=6.4x10⁻⁹).

Conclusions:

• Dysregulation of lysosomal function, indicated by the seven downregulated genes, may contribute to aberrant T lymphocyte function in pediatric allergic asthma.
• Targeting lysosomal function presents a potential therapeutic strategy for pediatric allergic asthma.
• Further research is warranted to validate these findings and explore therapeutic interventions.