A novel model based on immune-related genes for differentiating biliary atresia from other cholestatic diseases

Based on a public gene expression database, this study established the immune-related genetic model that distinguished BA from other cholestasis diseases (DC) for the first time. We explored the molecular mechanism of BA based on the gene model.

The BA microarray dataset GSE46960, containing BA, other cause of intrahepatic cholestasis than biliary atresia and normal liver gene expression data, was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. We performed a comprehensive bioinformatics analysis to establish and validate an immune-related gene model and subsequently identified hub genes as biomarkers associated with the molecular mechanisms of BA. To assess the model's performance for separating BA from other cholestasis diseases, we used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) of the ROC. Independent datasets GSE69948 and GSE122340 were used for the validation process.

The model was built using eight immune-related genes, including EDN1, HAMP, SAA1, SPP1, ANKRD1, MMP7, TACSTD2, and UCA1. In the GSE46960 and validation group, it presented excellent results, and the prediction accuracy of BA in comparison to other cholestasis diseases was good. Functional enrichment analysis revealed significant immunological differences between BA and other cholestatic diseases. Finally, we found that the TNFα-NF-κB pathway is associated with EDN1 gene expression and may explain fibrosis progression, which may become a new therapeutic target.

In summary, we have successfully constructed an immune-related gene model that can distinguish BA from other cholestatic diseases, while identifying the hub gene. Our exploration of immune genes provides new clues for the early diagnosis, molecular mechanism, and clinical treatment of biliary atresia.