[Bioinformatical analysis of differently expressed genes related to mitochondrial function in systemic sclerosis]

Objective To investigate the relationship between mitochondria and systemic sclerosis (SSc) by analyzing the expression of mitochondrial function-related genes in skin biopsy samples from patients with SSc. Methods Gene chip expression profile of SSc skin biopsy in Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database was used, and differently expressed genes (DEGs) related to mitochondrial function were identified by t test and fold change (FC). What's more, functional annotation, functional enrichment and protein interaction network analysis were performed. Results A total of 422 significant DEGs were identified between the SSc group and the normal group. Among them, 23 DEGs were mitochondrial function-related genes. Functional annotation and enrichment analysis of 23 DEGs revealed that abnormally expressed mitochondrial function-related genes mainly affected several biological processes, such as mitochondrial energy supply and cell metabolism. Conclusion The dysregulation of mitochondrial function-related genes in SSc patients affects the function of mitochondria, suggesting that the abnormality of mitochondrial function may be associated with the development of SSc.