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Research Paper|Volume 16, Issue 6|pp 5224—5248

Development and validation of a novel biomarker panel for Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis and treatment

Hao Zhang1, Wenhao Qiao1, Ran Liu1, Zuoxiu Shi1, Jie Sun1, Shuxiao Dong1
  • 1Department of Gastroenterology Surgery, Shandong Provincial Third Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250013, China
Received: October 4, 2023Accepted: February 2, 2024Published: March 10, 2024
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.205644

Copyright: © 2024 Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

Background: Crohn’s disease (CD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms linking these two diseases remain unclear.

Methods: To identify shared core genes between CD and RA, we employed differential gene analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm. Functional annotation of these core biomarkers was performed using consensus clustering and gene set enrichment analysis. We also constructed a protein-protein network and a miRNA-mRNA network using multiple databases, and potential therapeutic agents targeting the core biomarkers were predicted. Finally, we confirmed the expression of the genes in the biomarker panel in both CD and RA using quantitative PCR.

Results: A total of five shared core genes, namely C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10), C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 9 (CXCL9), aquaporin 9 (AQP9), secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), and metallothionein 1M (MT1M), were identified as core biomarkers. These biomarkers activate classical pro-inflammatory and immune signaling pathways, influencing immune cell aggregation. Additionally, testosterone was identified as a potential therapeutic agent targeting the biomarkers identified in this study. The expression of genes in the biomarker panel in CD and RA was confirmed through quantitative PCR.

Conclusion: Our study revealed some core genes shared between CD and RA and established a novel biomarker panel with potential implications for the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.