Identification of differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways in gestational diabetes mellitus by integrated bioinformatics analysis

Abstract

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a metabolic disorder during pregnancy. Numerous biomarkers have been identified that are linked with the occurrence and development of GDM. The aim of this investigation was to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in GDM using a bioinformatics approach to elucidate their molecular pathogenesis. GDM associated expression profiling by high throughput sequencing dataset (GSE154377) was obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database including 28 normal pregnancy samples and 33 GDM samples. DEGs were identified using DESeq2. The gene ontology (GO) and REACTOME pathway enrichments of DEGs were performed by g:Profiler. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were assembled with Cytoscape software and separated into modules using the PEWCC1 algorithm. MiRNA-hub gene regulatory network and TF-hub gene regulatory network were performed with the miRNet database and NetworkAnalyst database. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses was conducted to validate the hub genes. A total of 953 DEGs were identified, of which 478 DEGs were up regulated and 475 DEGs were down regulated. Furthermore, GO and REACTOME pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that these DEGs were mainly enriched in multicellular organismal process, cell activation, formation of the cornified envelope and hemostasis. TRIM54, ELAVL2, PTN, KIT, BMPR1B, APP, SRC, ITGA4, RPA1 and ACTB were identified as key genes in the PPI network, miRNA-hub gene regulatory network and TF-hub gene regulatory network. TRIM54, ELAVL2, PTN, KIT, BMPR1B, APP, SRC, ITGA4, RPA1 and ACTB in GDM were validated using ROC analysis. This investigation provides further insights into the molecular pathogenesis of GDM, which might facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of GDM.