TITLE:
Identification and Validation of Vascular-Associated Biomarkers for the Prognosis and Potential Pathogenesis of Hypertension Using Comprehensive Bioinformatics Methods
AUTHORS:
Xiangguang Chang, Lei Guo, Liying Zou, Yazhao Ma, Jilin Feng
KEYWORDS:
Hypertension, Biomarkers, Differentially Expressed Genes, Vascular Development and Angiogenesis, Bioinformatics Analysis
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases,
Vol.14 No.3,
March
27,
2024
ABSTRACT: Background: Hypertension, also
known as increased blood pressure, is a phenomenon in which blood flows in
blood vessels and causes persistently higher-than-normal pressure on the vessel
wall. The identification of novel prognostic and pathogenesis biomarkers plays
a key role in the management of hypertension. Methods: The GSE7483 and
GSE75815 datasets from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database were used to
identify the genes associated with hypertension that were differentially
expressed genes (DEGs). The functional role of the DEGs was elucidated by gene
body (GO) enrichment analysis. In addition, we performed an immune infiltration
assay and GSEA on the DEGs of hypertensive patients and verified the expression
of novel DEGs in the blood of hypertensive patients by RT-qPCR. Results: A total of 267 DEGs were identified from the GEO database. GO analysis revealed
that these genes were associated mainly with biological processes such as
fibroblast proliferation, cell structural organization, extracellular matrix
organization, vasculature development regulation, and angiogenesis. We
identified five possible biomarkers, Ecm1, Sparc, Sphk1, Thbsl, and Mecp2,
which correlate with vascular development and angiogenesis characteristic of hypertension by bioinformatics, and
explored the clinical expression levels of these genes by RT-qPCR, and found that Sparc, Sphk1, and Thbs1 showed
significant up-regulation, in agreement with the results of the bioinformatics
analysis. Conclusion: Our study suggested that Sparc, Sphk1 and Thbs1
may be potential novel biomarkers for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of
hypertension and that they are involved in the regulation of vascular
development and angiogenesis in hypertension.