Identification of candidate genes and molecular mechanisms related to asthma progression using bioinformatics

Asthma is a heterogeneous disorder. This study aimed to identify changes in gene expression and molecular mechanisms associated with moderate to severe asthma.

Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed in GSE69683 dataset among moderate asthma and its controls as well as between severe asthma and moderate asthma. Key module genes were identified via co-expression analysis, and the molecular mechanism of the module genes was explored through enrichment analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). GSE89809 was used to verify the characteristic genes related to moderate and severe asthma.

Accordingly, 2540 DEGs were present between moderate asthma and the control group, while 6781 DEGs existed between severe asthma and moderate asthma. These genes were identified into 14 co-expression modules. Module 7 had the highest positive correlation with severe asthma and was recognized to be a key module by STEM. Enrichment analysis demonstrated that the module genes were mainly involved in oxidative stress-related signaling pathways. The expression of HSPA1A, PIK3CG and PIK3R6 was associated with moderate asthma, while MAPK13 and MMP9 were associated with severe asthma. The AUC values were verified by GSE89809. Additionally, 322 drugs were predicted to target five genes.

These results identified characteristic genes related to moderate and severe asthma and their corresponding molecular mechanisms, providing a basis for future research.