Bioinformatics Approaches to Identify the Comorbidity Complexities of <em>SARS-CoV-2</em> Infection with Crohn's Disease

Abstract

Objective: To analyse potential molecular mechanisms and identify potential therapeutic regimens and drugs to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Crohn's disease (CD) through bioinformatics and systems biology.

Study design: Bioinformatics Study. Place and Duration of the Study: Jiading District Central Hospital Affiliated Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai, China, from May to December 2022.

Methodology: The common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between CD and SARS-CoV-2 infection were identified using two RNA-seq datasets (GSE147507, GSE153974) extracted from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Subsequently, functional enrichment, pathway analysis, and candidate drug analysis were performed using these DEGs.

Results: In total, 44 DEGs were identified as common between CD and SARS-CoV-2 infection. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, hub genes were identified, and critical modules were determined by means of bioinformatics and combinatorial statistical approaches. Functional and pathway analyses conducted under ontological conditions showed a common association between CD and infection with SARS-CoV-2. The common DEGs were then used to identify coregulatory networks of interactions between transcriptional factors and genes, between proteins and medicines, and between DEGs and miRNAs.

Conclusion: Top 10 hub genes including IL6, CXCL1, CSF2, CXCL2, CXCL5, MMP3, PTGS2, CXCL3, SELE, and LCN2 were identified, which may function as potential candidate targets for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Additionally, the identification of certain promising treatment drugs for patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and CD was also made.

Key words: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Drug molecule, Hub gene, Protein-protein interaction (PPI), Gene ontology, Crohn's disease, Differentially expressed genes.