Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 21, 2025

Author Spotlight: Development and Characterization of a Mouse Model for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Published on: August 2, 2024
Identification of the Key Genes and Potential Therapeutic Compounds for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Based on a Weighted
Lin Li1,2, Kejia Kan1,2, Prama Pallavi1,2
1Department of Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68167 Mannheim, Germany.
Background:
There is still an unmet need for therapeutic drugs for patients with an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), especially for candidates unsuitable for surgical or interventional repair. Therefore, the purpose of this in silico study is to identify significant genes and regulatory mechanisms in AAA patients to predicate the potential therapeutic compounds for significant genes.
Methods:
The GSE57691 dataset was obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and used to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA). The biological function of DEGs was determined using gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). AAA-related genes were obtained from the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) using the keywords: aortic aneurysm and abdominal. The hub genes in AAA were obtained by overlapping DEGs, WGCNA-based hub genes, and CTD-based genes. The diagnostic values of hub genes were determined using ROC curve analysis. Hereby, a TF-miRNA-hub gene network was constructed based on the miRnet database. Using these data, potential therapeutic compounds for the therapy of AAA were predicted based on the Drug Gene Interaction Database (DGIdb).
Results:
A total of 218 DEGs (17 upregulated and 201 downregulated) and their biological function were explored; 4093 AAA-related genes were derived by text mining. Three hub modules and 144 hub genes were identified by WGCNA. asparagine synthetase (ASNS), axin-related protein 2 (AXIN2), melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM), and the testis-specific Y-encoded-like protein 1 (TSPYL1) were obtained as intersecting hub genes and the diagnostic values were confirmed with ROC curves. As potential compounds targeting the hub genes, asparaginase was identified as the target compound for ASNS. Prednisolone and abiraterone were identified as compounds targeting TSPYL1. For MCAM and TSPYL1, no potential therapeutic compound could be predicted.
Conclusion:
Using WGCNA analysis and text mining, pre-existing gene expression data were used to provide novel insight into potential AAA-related protein targets. For two of these targets, compounds could be predicted.
More Related Videos
09:32Measurement of Pulse Propagation Velocity, Distensibility and Strain in an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Mouse Model
Published on: February 23, 2020
06:46Quantitative Micro-CT Analysis of Aortopathy in a Mouse Model of β-aminopropionitrile-induced Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection
Published on: July 16, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Protein Networks
These interactions can be represented through maps depicting protein-protein interaction networks, represented as nodes and edges. Nodes are circles that are representative of a protein,...
Genome-wide Association Studies-GWAS
GWAS does not require the identification of the target gene involved in...
Aneurysm II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies
Aneurysm III: Interprofessional Care