MAPK8 and HDAC6: potential biomarkers related to autophagy in diabetic retinopathy based on bioinformatics analysis

IntroductionOne of the most common vascular diseases of the retina is diabetic retinopathy (DR), a microvascular condition caused by diabetes. The autophagy system transports and degrades cytoplasmic substances to lysosomes as part of the intracellular degradation process. Autophagy appears to be an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ruotong Sun, Ling Zuo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Endocrinology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2025.1487007/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850261215737020416
author Ruotong Sun
Ling Zuo
author_facet Ruotong Sun
Ling Zuo
author_sort Ruotong Sun
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionOne of the most common vascular diseases of the retina is diabetic retinopathy (DR), a microvascular condition caused by diabetes. The autophagy system transports and degrades cytoplasmic substances to lysosomes as part of the intracellular degradation process. Autophagy appears to be an important regulator in the development and progression of DR, but its mechanism and potential role are unclear. The purpose of this study is to identify autophagy-related genes in DR and find potential biomarkers associated with DR through bioinformatics analysis.MethodWe retrieved the dataset GSE102485 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and compiled a list of 344 autophagy-related genes. Using the R software, bioinformatics analysis was used to identify the differentially expressed autophagy-related genes (ARGs). Then, we identified the autophagy-related hub genes (ARHGs) through a series of analyses including Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, correlation analysis, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. In addition, the miRNA-gene-TF interaction network was generated using the NetworkAnalyst platform. Potential therapeutic drugs were predicted utilizing the Drug-Gene Interaction Database (DGIdb). Ultimately, DR was simulated through the high glucose incubation of the retinal pigment epithelium cell line (ARPE-19), and employing quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to verify ARHG expression. The effectiveness of ARHGs in diagnosing DR was assessed by measuring the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.ResultsDifferential expression analysis identified 26 ARGs, of which 6 were upregulated and 20 were downregulated. Through GO and KEGG enrichment analysis, it was found that ARGs showed significant enrichment in autophagy-related pathways. Using PPI network analysis, 7 ARHGs were identified. The expression of MAPK8, HDAC6, DNAJB1 and TARDBP, in a model of DR were confirmed by qRT-PCR. The ROC curve results showed that MAPK8, HDAC6, DNAJB1 and TSC2 had high predictive accuracy and could be used as biomarkers for DR.ConclusionThrough bioinformatics analysis, we identified 26 genes that may be associated with autophagy in DR. We suggest that the hub genes MAPK8 and HDAC6 as biomarkers may be involved in autophagy in DR.
format Article
id doaj-art-64e379ab996d4a6abddd8f3d81bef2fe
institution OA Journals
issn 1664-2392
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Endocrinology
spelling doaj-art-64e379ab996d4a6abddd8f3d81bef2fe2025-08-20T01:55:28ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Endocrinology1664-23922025-05-011610.3389/fendo.2025.14870071487007MAPK8 and HDAC6: potential biomarkers related to autophagy in diabetic retinopathy based on bioinformatics analysisRuotong SunLing ZuoIntroductionOne of the most common vascular diseases of the retina is diabetic retinopathy (DR), a microvascular condition caused by diabetes. The autophagy system transports and degrades cytoplasmic substances to lysosomes as part of the intracellular degradation process. Autophagy appears to be an important regulator in the development and progression of DR, but its mechanism and potential role are unclear. The purpose of this study is to identify autophagy-related genes in DR and find potential biomarkers associated with DR through bioinformatics analysis.MethodWe retrieved the dataset GSE102485 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and compiled a list of 344 autophagy-related genes. Using the R software, bioinformatics analysis was used to identify the differentially expressed autophagy-related genes (ARGs). Then, we identified the autophagy-related hub genes (ARHGs) through a series of analyses including Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, correlation analysis, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. In addition, the miRNA-gene-TF interaction network was generated using the NetworkAnalyst platform. Potential therapeutic drugs were predicted utilizing the Drug-Gene Interaction Database (DGIdb). Ultimately, DR was simulated through the high glucose incubation of the retinal pigment epithelium cell line (ARPE-19), and employing quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to verify ARHG expression. The effectiveness of ARHGs in diagnosing DR was assessed by measuring the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.ResultsDifferential expression analysis identified 26 ARGs, of which 6 were upregulated and 20 were downregulated. Through GO and KEGG enrichment analysis, it was found that ARGs showed significant enrichment in autophagy-related pathways. Using PPI network analysis, 7 ARHGs were identified. The expression of MAPK8, HDAC6, DNAJB1 and TARDBP, in a model of DR were confirmed by qRT-PCR. The ROC curve results showed that MAPK8, HDAC6, DNAJB1 and TSC2 had high predictive accuracy and could be used as biomarkers for DR.ConclusionThrough bioinformatics analysis, we identified 26 genes that may be associated with autophagy in DR. We suggest that the hub genes MAPK8 and HDAC6 as biomarkers may be involved in autophagy in DR.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2025.1487007/fulldiabetic retinopathyautophagybiomarkerMAPK8HDAC6
spellingShingle Ruotong Sun
Ling Zuo
MAPK8 and HDAC6: potential biomarkers related to autophagy in diabetic retinopathy based on bioinformatics analysis
Frontiers in Endocrinology
diabetic retinopathy
autophagy
biomarker
MAPK8
HDAC6
title MAPK8 and HDAC6: potential biomarkers related to autophagy in diabetic retinopathy based on bioinformatics analysis
title_full MAPK8 and HDAC6: potential biomarkers related to autophagy in diabetic retinopathy based on bioinformatics analysis
title_fullStr MAPK8 and HDAC6: potential biomarkers related to autophagy in diabetic retinopathy based on bioinformatics analysis
title_full_unstemmed MAPK8 and HDAC6: potential biomarkers related to autophagy in diabetic retinopathy based on bioinformatics analysis
title_short MAPK8 and HDAC6: potential biomarkers related to autophagy in diabetic retinopathy based on bioinformatics analysis
title_sort mapk8 and hdac6 potential biomarkers related to autophagy in diabetic retinopathy based on bioinformatics analysis
topic diabetic retinopathy
autophagy
biomarker
MAPK8
HDAC6
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2025.1487007/full
work_keys_str_mv AT ruotongsun mapk8andhdac6potentialbiomarkersrelatedtoautophagyindiabeticretinopathybasedonbioinformaticsanalysis
AT lingzuo mapk8andhdac6potentialbiomarkersrelatedtoautophagyindiabeticretinopathybasedonbioinformaticsanalysis