Study on Screening Ferroptosis-Related Differential Expression Genes of Liver Cirrhosis Based on Bioinformatics and Prediction of Potential Chinese Medicine
Abstract:Objective:To screen the ferroptosis- related differential expression genes of liver cirrhosis by bioinformatics and predict the Chinese medicine and active components with potential curative effect. Methods:The Gene Expression Synthesis(GEO) database of National Center for Biotechnology Information platform was used to collect the gene expression data sets of patients with liver cirrhosis, and the R software was used to analyze the data sets to obtain the differential expression genes (DEGs) of liver cirrhosis;ferroptosis- related genes (FRGs) were obtained through the FerrDb database,the core genes were analyzed and screened by protein- protein interaction networks (PPI), and gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed. Using Coremine Medical database,the Chinese medicine corresponding to the core genes was sought,and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) was searched to collect the effective active components of Chinese medicine and screen the core active components; molecular docking was used to verify the binding ability of core genes to core active components. Results: A total of 67 ferroptosis- related differential expression genes of cirrhosis were screened,which played a role in monomer metabolic process,cell response to pressure,phosphoruscontaining compound metabolic process,etc.,involving p53 signaling pathway,glutathione metabolism, and FoxO signaling pathway. Among them, five core genes of silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR),interleukin 6 (IL-6),peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and nuclear factor erythroid 2- related factor 2 (NFE2L2) were highly enriched in the ferroptosis pathway. Based on TCMSP,17 kinds of Chinese medicine such as Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Lycii Fructus,Scutellariae Radix and Paeoniae Radix Rubra,and 4 kinds of key active components such as β-sitosterol,stigmasterol,quercetin and kaempferol were predicted. Molecular docking showed that the core genes were well combined with the key active components. Conclusion:The four components of β- sitosterol, stigmasterol, quercetin and kaempferol contained in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Lycii Fructus, Scutellariae Radix and Paeoniae Radix Rubra can regulate ferroptosis by regulating such targets as SIRT1,EGFR,IL-6,PPARα and NFE2L2 in the treatment of liver cirrhosis.