Screening of Hub Genes Associated with Ferroptosis in Atherosclerosis Using Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis

WANG Miaoqian; MA Mingfeng

doi:10.12102/j.issn.1672-1349.2025.16.002

Abstract：Objective:To identify hypoxia and ferroptosis-related differentially expressed genes in atherosclerosis(AS)using bioinformatics analysis.Methods:Bioinformatic analysis was conducted in GSE12288,GSE97210,and GSE28829.The"limma"package was used to identify differentially expressed genes(DEGs).Different kinds of enrichment analyses were performed to find out the relevant pathways.Weighted correlation network analysis(WGCNA)was performed to construct co-expression network to explore marker correlations and identify important interacting gene modules correlated with AS.Cytoscape was used to visualize ferroptosis related genes and some non-coding RNAs interaction network.CIBROSORT was used to evaluate abundance of immunocytes,revealing the effect of immune response in AS.Results:Thirty ferroptosis related differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were obtained,such as ferritin light chain(FTL),glutamate receptor subunit 3(GRIA3),Promin-2(PROM2),interleukin-1β(IL1β)and so on.Gene ontology(GO)analysis and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis(GSEA)found pathways such as regulation of epithelial cell proliferation,membrane raft,and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)pathway enriched in this diseases.Regulatory network and immunocyte infiltration abundance analysis were performed to evaluate the underlying mechanism in AS.Conclusion:Thirty DEGs associated with ferroptosis were found in AS and correlated with pathological progression of the disease.The pathogenesis and potential molecular targets of the disease were discussed for potential treatment targets in the future.However,the underlying pathogenesis and potential molecular targets still need more comprehensive and in-depth studies.