Novel candidate genes of the PARK7 interactome as mediators of apoptosis and acetylation in multiple sclerosis: An in silico analysis

Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2018 Jan:19:8-14. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2017.10.013. Epub 2017 Oct 24.

Abstract

Background: currently only 4 studies have explored the potential role of PARK7's dysregulation in MS pathophysiology Currently, no study has evaluated the potential role of the PARK7 interactome in MS.

Objective: The aim of our study was to assess the differential expression of PARK7 mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclears (PBMCs) donated from MS versus healthy patients using data mining techniques.

Methods: The PARK7 interactome data from the GDS3920 profile were scrutinized for differentially expressed genes (DEGs); Gene Enrichment Analysis (GEA) was used to detect significantly enriched biological functions.

Results: 27 differentially expressed genes in the MS dataset were detected; 12 of these (NDUFA4, UBA2, TDP2, NPM1, NDUFS3, SUMO1, PIAS2, KIAA0101, RBBP4, NONO, RBBP7 AND HSPA4) are reported for the first time in MS. Stepwise Linear Discriminant Function Analysis constructed a predictive model (Wilk's λ = 0.176, χ2 = 45.204, p = 1.5275e-10) with 2 variables (TIDP2, RBBP4) that achieved 96.6% accuracy when discriminating between patients and controls. Gene Enrichment Analysis revealed that induction and regulation of programmed / intrinsic cell death represented the most salient Gene Ontology annotations. Cross-validation on systemic lupus erythematosus and ischemic stroke datasets revealed that these functions are unique to the MS dataset.

Conclusions: Based on our results, novel potential target genes are revealed; these differentially expressed genes regulate epigenetic and apoptotic pathways that may further elucidate underlying mechanisms of autorreactivity in MS.

MeSH terms

  • Acetylation
  • Apoptosis / genetics*
  • Computational Biology / methods*
  • Computer Simulation
  • Data Mining
  • Gene Regulatory Networks / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Monocytes / metabolism
  • Multiple Sclerosis / genetics*
  • Nucleophosmin
  • Protein Deglycase DJ-1 / metabolism*
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism

Substances

  • NPM1 protein, human
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Nucleophosmin
  • PARK7 protein, human
  • Protein Deglycase DJ-1