Acute Pancreatitis-Associated Genes Identified by Integrative Analysis of Gene Expression Data

Abstract

Background Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common digestive disease. A better understanding of the biology and molecular pathogenesis of AP may provide the basis for the prevention and therapy of AP.Methods The gene expression datasets GSE109227, GSE3644 and GSE65146, which included gene expression profiles of pancreas samples from AP and control mice, were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. All differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using GEO2R and annotated using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. Results Thirty-eight DEGs were found to overlap among the three datasets. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed; hub proteins were identified; and functional modules were extracted. Three genes (Cdh1, Iqgap1 and Actn4), which are involved in the adherens junction pathway, were identified using PPI analysis and may provide potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of AP.Conclusions We will further study the effects of the Cdh1, Iqgap1 and Actn4 genes on the occurrence and development of acute pancreatitis, which may provide new targets for the diagnosis and treatment of AP.