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. 2025 Jan;57(1):205-214.
doi: 10.1007/s11255-024-04158-7. Epub 2024 Jul 19.

Identification of hub genes associated with pyroptosis in diabetic nephropathy patients using integrated bioinformatic analysis

Qiuli Wang #  1   2 , Yan Zhou #  2 , Nan Zheng #  3 , Feng Jiang  4 , Chenxia Juan  5
Affiliations

Identification of hub genes associated with pyroptosis in diabetic nephropathy patients using integrated bioinformatic analysis

Qiuli Wang et al. Int Urol Nephrol. 2025 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the role of pyroptosis in diabetic nephropathy (DN) and identify potential biomarkers for diagnosis.

Methods: We analyzed the GEO dataset GSE96804 to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to pyroptosis in DN. The CIBERSORT method was used to assess M1 macrophage infiltration in the samples. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we identified gene modules associated with M1 macrophages. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method was then applied to screen for key genes. The intersection of key genes identified by LASSO and the gene modules obtained from WGCNA resulted in the identification of ten hub genes as potential biomarkers for DN.

Results: A total of 366 DEGs were identified, with 310 genes associated with pyroptosis. Increased M1 macrophage infiltration was observed in DN patients. Ten hub genes were identified as potential DN biomarkers: ECM1, LRP2BP, ALKBH7, CDH10, DUSP1, HSPA1A, LPL, NFIL3, PDK4, and TMEM150C.

Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of pyroptosis in DN pathophysiology and identifies 10 hub genes as potential biomarkers. These findings may contribute to improved diagnosis and treatment of DN.

Keywords: Diabetes; Diabetic nephropathy; LASSO; Pyroptosis; WGCNA.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval and consent to participate: This study utilized publicly available data from the GEO database, specifically datasets GSE96804 and GSE131882. As such, no ethics approval or informed consent was required. Consent for publication: Not applicable.

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