Identification of Key PANoptosis Regulators in Periodontitis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Using Gene...

Area of Science:

• Molecular biology
• Immunology
• Genomics

Background:

• Periodontitis (PD) is a chronic inflammatory oral disease linked to systemic conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• PANoptosis, a regulated cell death pathway, is implicated in inflammation but its role in PD and COPD overlap is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of PANoptosis in periodontitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
• To identify shared molecular mechanisms and potential biomarkers/therapeutic targets in PD and COPD.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of gene expression datasets for PD and COPD from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO).
• Intersection of differentially expressed genes with PANoptosis-related genes.
• Functional enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction network analysis, machine learning (XGBoost), immune infiltration analysis, and drug-gene interaction analysis.

Main Results:

• Seven core PANoptosis-related genes (ACO1, NLRC4, CASP8, HSPA4, IL1B, MEFV, CYCS) were identified as common to both PD and COPD.
• These genes are involved in inflammasome, apoptosis, and oxidative stress pathways.
• Significant differences in immune cell infiltration were observed, and IL1B and CASP8 were identified as potential drug targets.

Conclusions:

• This study establishes the first link between PANoptosis and both PD and COPD.
• Shared molecular pathways involving PANoptosis genes are implicated in these chronic inflammatory diseases.
• PANoptosis-related genes represent promising novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for periodontitis and related systemic conditions.