Hirschsprung disease (HSCR) is a neurocristopathy characterized by intestinal aganglionosis which is attributed to a failure in neural crest cell (NCC) development during the embryonic stage. The colonization of the intestine by NCCs is a process finely controlled by a wide and complex gene regulatory system. Several genes have been associated with HSCR, but many aspects still remain poorly understood. The present study is focused on deciphering the PAX6 interaction network during enteric nervous system (ENS) formation. A combined experimental and computational approach was performed to identify PAX6 direct targets, as well as gene networks shared among such targets as potential susceptibility factors for HSCR. As a result, genes related to PAX6 either directly (RABGGTB and BRD3) or indirectly (TGFB1, HRAS, and GRB2) were identified as putative genes associated with HSCR. Interestingly, GRB2 is involved in the RET/GDNF/GFRA1 signaling pathway, one of the main pathways implicated in the disease. Our findings represent a new contribution to advance in the knowledge of the genetic basis of HSCR. The investigation of the role of these genes could help to elucidate their implication in HSCR onset.
Keywords: ChIP-seq; Hirschsprung disease; PAX6; gene expression profiling; sequence analysis.