Identification of shared important genes associated with ferroptosis across different etiologies of acute lung injury

Abstract Acute lung injury (ALI) of different etiologies has shared pathophysiologic process, from which we speculated that ALI of different etiologies may share common molecular features. While the shared genetic characteristics of ALI remain unclear. In this paper, we aimed to identify shared ferr...

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Main Authors: Jing Li, Yanming Yang, Zhengjun Cui
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-98936-7
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author Jing Li
Yanming Yang
Zhengjun Cui
author_facet Jing Li
Yanming Yang
Zhengjun Cui
author_sort Jing Li
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Acute lung injury (ALI) of different etiologies has shared pathophysiologic process, from which we speculated that ALI of different etiologies may share common molecular features. While the shared genetic characteristics of ALI remain unclear. In this paper, we aimed to identify shared ferroptosis-associated and bottleneck genes from acute lung injury of different etiologies. Firstly, we extracted five groups of gene sets related to three distinct models of ALI from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Then, through the utilization of weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we identified 3 significant gene modules and ascertained 7 shared co-expressed genes affected by these models. Subsequently, through the utilization of differential gene expression analysis and protein-protein interaction network analysis for the 3 gene modules, the shared bottleneck gene Slc7a11 was identified. Moreover, the 7 shared co-expressed genes subjected to these three ALI models were used to identify shared ferroptosis-associated genes via the FerrDb database. Finally, the key gene Slc7a11 was confirmed and validated. In addition, we observed that Slc7a11 is both a driver and a suppressor gene in the FerrDb database. Interestingly, we found the expression level of Slc7a11 was significantly upregulated in the three ALI models. Experimentally, we confirmed the expression of Slc7a11 in rat ALI tissues by using immunofluorescence staining and real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays. Collectively, our findings complement the exploration of the shared pathogenesis of ALI. There are genetic features shared by ALI of different etiology and the increased expression of Slc7a11 was identified in the three different etiologies of ALI, which can improve our understanding of the shared molecular mechanisms underlying ALI.
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spelling doaj-art-e2865dce7b5f4e3f828057c13c34bf252025-08-20T02:24:29ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-0115111710.1038/s41598-025-98936-7Identification of shared important genes associated with ferroptosis across different etiologies of acute lung injuryJing Li0Yanming Yang1Zhengjun Cui2Department of Burns and Reconstructive Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese MedicineDepartment of Burns and Reconstructive Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou UniversityAbstract Acute lung injury (ALI) of different etiologies has shared pathophysiologic process, from which we speculated that ALI of different etiologies may share common molecular features. While the shared genetic characteristics of ALI remain unclear. In this paper, we aimed to identify shared ferroptosis-associated and bottleneck genes from acute lung injury of different etiologies. Firstly, we extracted five groups of gene sets related to three distinct models of ALI from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Then, through the utilization of weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we identified 3 significant gene modules and ascertained 7 shared co-expressed genes affected by these models. Subsequently, through the utilization of differential gene expression analysis and protein-protein interaction network analysis for the 3 gene modules, the shared bottleneck gene Slc7a11 was identified. Moreover, the 7 shared co-expressed genes subjected to these three ALI models were used to identify shared ferroptosis-associated genes via the FerrDb database. Finally, the key gene Slc7a11 was confirmed and validated. In addition, we observed that Slc7a11 is both a driver and a suppressor gene in the FerrDb database. Interestingly, we found the expression level of Slc7a11 was significantly upregulated in the three ALI models. Experimentally, we confirmed the expression of Slc7a11 in rat ALI tissues by using immunofluorescence staining and real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays. Collectively, our findings complement the exploration of the shared pathogenesis of ALI. There are genetic features shared by ALI of different etiology and the increased expression of Slc7a11 was identified in the three different etiologies of ALI, which can improve our understanding of the shared molecular mechanisms underlying ALI.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-98936-7WGCNAShared geneFerroptosisAcute lung injuryBioinformatics
spellingShingle Jing Li
Yanming Yang
Zhengjun Cui
Identification of shared important genes associated with ferroptosis across different etiologies of acute lung injury
Scientific Reports
WGCNA
Shared gene
Ferroptosis
Acute lung injury
Bioinformatics
title Identification of shared important genes associated with ferroptosis across different etiologies of acute lung injury
title_full Identification of shared important genes associated with ferroptosis across different etiologies of acute lung injury
title_fullStr Identification of shared important genes associated with ferroptosis across different etiologies of acute lung injury
title_full_unstemmed Identification of shared important genes associated with ferroptosis across different etiologies of acute lung injury
title_short Identification of shared important genes associated with ferroptosis across different etiologies of acute lung injury
title_sort identification of shared important genes associated with ferroptosis across different etiologies of acute lung injury
topic WGCNA
Shared gene
Ferroptosis
Acute lung injury
Bioinformatics
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-98936-7
work_keys_str_mv AT jingli identificationofsharedimportantgenesassociatedwithferroptosisacrossdifferentetiologiesofacutelunginjury
AT yanmingyang identificationofsharedimportantgenesassociatedwithferroptosisacrossdifferentetiologiesofacutelunginjury
AT zhengjuncui identificationofsharedimportantgenesassociatedwithferroptosisacrossdifferentetiologiesofacutelunginjury