Unveiling Immune-related feature genes for Alzheimer's disease based on machine learning.

Journal: Frontiers in immunology
Published Date:

Abstract

The identification of diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) remains a crucial area of research. In this study, utilizing the Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) algorithm, we identified RHBDF2 and TNFRSF10B as feature genes associated with AD pathogenesis. Analyzing data from the GSE33000 dataset, we revealed significant upregulation of RHBDF2 and TNFRSF10B in AD patients, with correlations to age and gender. Interestingly, their expression profile in AD differs notably from that of other neurodegenerative conditions. Functional analysis unveiled their involvement in immune response and various signaling pathways implicated in AD pathogenesis. Furthermore, our study demonstrated the potential of RHBDF2 and TNFRSF10B as diagnostic biomarkers, exhibiting high discrimination power in distinguishing AD from control samples. External validation across multiple datasets confirmed the robustness of the diagnostic model. Moreover, utilizing molecular docking analysis, we identified dinaciclib and tanespimycin as promising small molecule drugs targeting RHBDF2 and TNFRSF10B for potential AD treatment. Our findings highlight the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of RHBDF2 and TNFRSF10B in AD management, shedding light on novel strategies for precision medicine in AD.

Authors

  • Guimei Zhang
    Department of Neurology and Neuroscience Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
  • Shuo Sun
    Laboratory of Biological Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
  • Yingying Wang
    Department of Thyroid Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
  • Yang Zhao
    The George Institute for Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
  • Li Sun
    Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.