Abstract
The results of many epidemiological studies suggest a bidirectional causality may exist between epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the underlying molecular landscape linking these two diseases remains largely unknown. This study aimed to explore this possible bidirectional causality by identifying differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in each disease as well as their intersection based on two respective disease-related datasets. We performed enrichment analyses and explored immune cell infiltration based on an intersection of the DEGs. Identifying a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network between epilepsy and PD, and this network was visualised using Cytoscape software to screen key modules and hub genes. Finally, exploring the diagnostic values of the identified hub genes. NetworkAnalyst 3.0 and Cytoscape software were also used to construct and visualise the transcription factor–micro-RNA regulatory and co-regulatory networks, the gene–microRNA interaction network, as well as gene-disease association. Based on the enrichment results, the intersection of the DEGs mainly revealed enrichment in immunity-, phosphorylation-, metabolism-, and inflammation-related pathways. The boxplots revealed similar trends in infiltration of many immune cells in epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, with greater infiltration in patients than in controls. A complex PPI network comprising 186 nodes and 512 edges were constructed. According to node connection degree, top 15 hub genes were considered the kernel targets of epilepsy and PD. The area under curve values of hub gene expression profiles confirmed their excellent diagnostic values. This study is the first to analyse the molecular landscape underlying the epidemiological link between epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. The two diseases are closely linked through immunity-, inflammation-, and metabolism-related pathways. This information was of great help in understanding the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of the diseases. The present results may provide guidance for further in-depth analysis about molecular mechanisms of epilepsy and PD and novel potential targets.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available in the GEO database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/).
Abbreviations
- AMPH:
-
Amphiphysin
- ATP:
-
Adenosine triphosphate
- AUC:
-
Area under the curve
- AXIN1:
-
Axin 1
- BP:
-
Biological process
- CC:
-
Cellular Component
- ChEA:
-
Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Enrichment Analysis
- CREM:
-
Cyclic adenosine monophosphate responsive element modulator
- DEGs:
-
Differentially expressed genes
- DNM1:
-
Dynamin 1
- EGR1:
-
Early growth response factor 1
- FLI1:
-
Fli-1 proto-oncogene
- GABA:
-
γ-Aminobutryic acid
- GO:
-
Gene ontology
- HIF-1:
-
Hypoxia-inducible factor 1
- HN4FA:
-
Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 alpha
- IL-6:
-
Interleukin 6
- IRF7:
-
Interferon regulatory factor 7
- KEGG:
-
Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes
- MCC:
-
Maximal clique centrality
- MCM4:
-
Minimicrosome maintenance complex component 4
- MCODE:
-
Molecular Complex Detection
- miRNA:
-
Micro-ribonucleic acid
- MF:
-
Molecular Function
- MNC:
-
Maximum neighbourhood component
- MRT4:
-
MRT4 homolog, ribosome maturation factor
- MYC:
-
MYC proto-oncogene
- NF:
-
Nuclear factor
- PD:
-
Parkinson’s disease
- PLCG2:
-
Phospholipase C gamma 2
- PPI:
-
Protein–protein interaction
- PPP2R1A:
-
Protein phosphatase 2 scaffold subunit A alpha
- PTPN6:
-
Protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 6
- ROC:
-
Receiver operating characteristic
- RELA:
-
RELA proto-oncogene
- ROC:
-
Receiver operating characteristic
- RPS3:
-
Ribosomal protein S3
- RPS6:
-
Ribosomal protein S6
- SMARCA4:
-
Transcription activator BRG1
- SMURF2:
-
SMAD-specific E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 2
- SN:
-
Substantia nigra
- SOFT:
-
Simple Omnibus Format in Text
- SPI1:
-
Spi-1 proton-oncogene
- ssGSEA:
-
Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis
- STRING:
-
Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes
- SYNJ1:
-
Synaptojanin 1
- TAL1:
-
T cell acute lymphoblastic lymphoma 1
- TF:
-
Transcription factor
- TLE:
-
Temporal lobe epilepsy
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Acknowledgements
We are thankful to Prof. Guoguang Zhao, for critically editing the current manuscript.
Funding
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82030037), the STI2030-Major Projects (2021ZD0201801), the Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission (Z221100007422016, Z221100002722007), the Translational and Application Project of Brain-inspired and Network Neuroscience on Brain Disorders, Beijing Municipal Health Commission (11000023T000002036286), the Beijing Municipal Health Commission (2022-1-8011, 2022-2-2011), the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2022YFC2405302), the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (L222107), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82201605).
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Conceptualisation: XW; Data Collection, XW, YH, WS; Methodology, XW, KW, JW, PW, HZ, YY, YW; Writing, XW; Review and editing: GZ, YS, PW. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Wu, X., Wang, K., Wang, J. et al. The Interplay Between Epilepsy and Parkinson’s Disease: Gene Expression Profiling and Functional Analysis. Mol Biotechnol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12033-024-01103-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12033-024-01103-y