Key Gene and Functional Pathways Identified in Unexplained Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion Using Targeted RNA Sequencing and Clinical Analysis

作者：Heng Gu, Longyu Li, Meng‐Xuan Du, Hang Xu, Mengge Gao, Xiaohua Liu, Xiangcai Wei, Xingming Zhong · 发表于：Frontiers in Immunology · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.3389/fimmu.2021.717832 · 被引用次数：40 · 研究领域：Reproductive System and Pregnancy、Endometriosis Research and Treatment、Reproductive Physiology in Livestock

Identifying the mechanisms underlying unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) can help develop effective treatments. This study provides novel insights into the biological characteristics and related pathways of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in URSA. Nineteen patients with URSA and three healthy fertile women with regular menstruation (control group) were recruited. RNA was extracted from the two groups to determine the differential expression of immunoregulatory gene sequences. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were used to identify the biological functions and pathways of the identified DEGs. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING database. Furthermore, qRT-PCR and ELISA were performed to validate the differential expression of the hub genes. We also explored the regulatory mechanism of Th1/Th2 imbalance. A total of 99 DEGs were identified, comprising 94 upregulated and five downregulated genes. Through GO analysis, nine immune cell function-related clusters were selected, and genes with significant differential expression were primarily enriched in eight immune regulatory functions related to the KEGG signalling pathway. Subsequently, five hub genes ( TLR2, CXCL8, IFNG, IL2RA, and ITGAX ) were identified using Cytoscape software; qRT-PCR confirmed the differential expression among the hub genes, whereas ELISA revealed a significant difference in extracellular IF...