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Gene set predictor for post-treatment Lyme disease.
Daniel J B Clarke1, Alison W Rebman2, Jinshui Fan2
1Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Mount Sinai Center for Bioinformatics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1603, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Cell Reports. Medicine
|November 17, 2022
Summary
Post-treatment Lyme disease (PTLD) often shows an inflammatory signature distinct from acute Lyme disease (LD). Researchers identified novel mRNA biomarkers from gene expression profiles to differentiate healthy individuals from those with acute or post-treatment LD.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Genomics
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Lyme disease (LD) is a significant tick-borne illness.
- The long-term effects and underlying mechanisms of post-treatment Lyme disease (PTLD) remain poorly understood.
- Identifying reliable biomarkers for PTLD is crucial for diagnosis and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the molecular differences between acute LD, PTLD, and healthy controls.
- To identify novel gene expression signatures associated with PTLD.
- To develop a potential mRNA biomarker set for diagnosing LD and PTLD.
Main Methods:
- RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
- Data from 152 individuals with PTLD, 72 with acute LD, and 44 healthy controls were analyzed.
- Differential gene expression analysis and gene set distillation were employed.
Main Results:
- Individuals with PTLD exhibited a distinct inflammatory gene expression profile compared to acute LD.
- A subset of highly expressed genes, not previously linked to known infections or inflammation, was identified.
- Feature importance analysis refined this set into a candidate mRNA biomarker panel.
Conclusions:
- PTLD is characterized by a unique inflammatory signature.
- Novel mRNA biomarkers show promise for distinguishing between healthy, acute LD, and PTLD states.
- These findings could lead to improved diagnostic tools for Lyme disease.
