HSPA13 gene and microRNA-155: relationship between Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease

Gene dysregulation in trisomy 21 can cause disorders of genes that are members of the heat-shock proteins (HSPs) family and contribute to the early onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Down syndrome (DS).

Investigate in silico differently expressed genes (DEGs) of HSPs and the interaction with microRNAs (miRNAs) located in human chromosome 21 (Hsa21).

Two transcriptome libraries of human brain samples, datasets GSE5390 (DS) and GSE33000 (DA), were extracted from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and analyzed via GEO2R. DEGs with p-values (Adj p-values) <0.05 were analyzed via STRING. MiRNAs were identified in the miRbase database and analysis of their potential regulation on DEGs was performed using the DIANA tools.

HSPE1, HSP90B1, HSPB8 and HSPA13 genes showed a different expression pattern in the transcriptomes of DS. The HSPA13 and HSPA2 genes showed an altered expression profile in the DS and AD datasets. In the predicted protein-protein interactions (PPI), we identified the interaction of HSPE1, HSP90B1, HSPB8 and HSPA13 with other HSP proteins. The miRNA encoded by Hsa21 (hsa-miR-155-5p) interacted with the HSPA13 gene.

The results suggest that certain genes encoding members of the HSP family, and in particular the interaction between miR-155-5p and HSPA13, may be associated with AD in DS.