Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026
MEDUSA for Identifying Death Regulatory Genes in Chemo-genetic Profiling Data
Published on: February 7, 2025
Single-cell transcriptomic analysis for the identification and validation of key genes associated with metabolic cell
Jianfeng Dong1, Yijie Ning2, Chuanlong Lu2
1Department of Orthopedics, The Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, PR China.
Background:
Pressure ulcer (PU) result from sustained pressure and friction that damage the skin and underlying subcutaneous tissues. Although ferroptosis-related proteins are differentially expressed between PUs and normal skin, the role of metabolic cell death (MCD)-related genes in PUs remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify MCD-related genes (MCD-RGs) associated with PUs using single-cell transcriptomic analysis and to explore their potential mechanisms.
Methods:
Differentially expressed genes were identified in key cell clusters from the PU single-cell dataset GSE137897 and intersected with MCD-RGs to obtain candidate genes. Key genes were screened through protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, followed by regulatory network construction, drug prediction, enrichment analysis, pseudotime analysis, and validation using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).
Results:
Key cells included immune cell clusters 1 and 2 and melanocytes. A total of 78 candidate genes and eight key genes were identified. These genes were predicted to be regulated by 40 transcription factors (TFs), to be associated with relevant biological pathways, and to be linked to 58 potential compounds. JUN differed significantly across all key cells, whereas ACTB showed stable changes. RT-qPCR results showed that ACTB, IKBKB, and JUN were upregulated in PUs.
Conclusion:
The integration of eight key genes identified through single-cell transcriptomic analysis provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of PU and may help identify potential therapeutic targets.
