Unraveling autophagy-related pathogenesis in active ulcerative colitis: A bioinformatics approach

In this editorial, we provide commentary on the study by Gong et al. In this original research article, Gong et al employed a bioinformatics approach to investigate the involvement of autophagy in active ulcerative colitis (UC). Through differential gene expression analysis, they identified 58 differentially expressed autophagy-related genes in UC patients compared to healthy controls. Notably, HSPA5, CASP1, SERPINA1, CX3CL1, and BAG3, were found to be upregulated in active UC patients, suggesting their significance as core autophagy-related targets. Enrichment analysis unveiled associations with crucial signaling pathways and diseases such as middle cerebral artery occlusion and glomerulonephritis. Moreover, immune cell infiltration analysis revealed notable differences in immune cell composition between UC patients and healthy controls. These findings offer valuable insights into the role of autophagy in UC pathogenesis and potential therapeutic targets.