Integrated Bioinformatic Analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes Associated with Wound Healing.

Wound healing is a complex process involving the coordinated interaction of various genes and molecular<br />pathways. The study aimed to uncover novel therapeutic targets, biomarkers and candidate genes for drug development<br />to improve successful wound repair interventions.<br />Materials and Methods: This study is a network-meta analysis study. Nine wound healing microarray datasets obtained<br />from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were used for this study. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs)<br />were described using the Limma package and shared genes were used as input for weighted gene co-expression<br />network analysis. The Gene Ontology analysis was performed using the EnrichR web server, and construction of a<br />protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was achieved by the STRING and Cytoscape.<br />Results: A total of 424 DEGs were determined. A co-expression network was constructed using 7692 shared genes<br />between nine data sets, resulting in the identification of seven modules. Among these modules, those with the top 20<br />genes of up and down-regulation were selected. The top down-regulated genes, including TJP1, SEC61A1, PLEK,<br />ATP5B, PDIA6, PIK3R1, SRGN, SDC2, and RBBP7, and the top up-regulated genes including RPS27A, EEF1A1,<br />HNRNPA1, CTNNB1, POLR2A, CFL1, CSNk1E, HSPD1, FN1, and AURKB, which can potentially serve as therapeutic<br />targets were identified. The KEGG pathway analysis found that the majority of the genes are enriched in the "Wnt<br />signaling pathway".<br />Conclusion: In our study of nine wound healing microarray datasets, we identified DEGs and co-expressed modules<br />using WGCNA. These genes are involved in important cellular processes such as transcription, translation, and posttranslational<br />modifications. We found nine down-regulated genes and ten up-regulated genes, which could serve as<br />potential therapeutic targets for further experimental validation. Targeting pathways related to protein synthesis and cell<br />adhesion and migration may enhance wound healing, but additional experimental validation is needed to confirm the<br />effectiveness and safety of targeted interventions.