What is it about?

Cardiomyopathy (CMP) is a group of myocardial diseases that progressively impair cardiac function. The mechanisms underlying CMP development are poorly understood, but lifestyle factors are clearly implicated as risk factors. This study aimed to identify molecular biomarkers involved in inflammatory CMP development and progression using a systems biology approach. The authors analysed microarray gene expression datasets from CMP and tissues affected by risk factors including smoking, ageing factors, high body fat, clinical depression status, insulin resistance, high dietary red meat intake, chronic alcohol consumption, obesity, high-calorie diet and high-fat diet.

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Why is it important?

We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from each dataset and compared those from CMP and risk factor datasets to identify common DEGs. Gene set enrichment analyses identified metabolic and signalling pathways, including MAPK, RAS signalling and cardiomyopathy pathways. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis identified protein subnetworks and ten hub proteins (CDK2, ATM, CDT1, NCOR2, HIST1H4A, HIST1H4B, HIST1H4C, HIST1H4D, HIST1H4E and HIST1H4L). Five transcription factors (FOXC1, GATA2, FOXL1, YY1, CREB1) and five miRNAs were also identified in CMP.

Perspectives

Our analysis reveals candidate biomarkers that may enhance understanding of mechanisms underlying CMP and their link to risk factors. Such biomarkers may also be useful to develop new therapeutics for CMP.

Babul Islam
University of Rajshahi

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This page is a summary of: A system biology approach to identify genetic links between cardiomyopathy and its causal risk factors, IET Systems Biology, October 2019, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (the IET),
DOI: 10.1049/iet-syb.2019.0074.
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