학술논문

Integrated systems biology approach identifies gene targets for endothelial dysfunction.
Document Type
Article
Source
Molecular Systems Biology. 12/6/2023, Vol. 19 Issue 12, p1-19. 19p.
Subject
*ENDOTHELIUM diseases
*SYSTEMS biology
*GENE targeting
*DATA integration
*ENDOTHELIAL cells
*DRUG target
Language
ISSN
1744-4292
Abstract
Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is critical in the development and progression of cardiovascular (CV) disorders, yet effective therapeutic targets for ED remain elusive due to limited understanding of its underlying molecular mechanisms. To address this gap, we employed a systems biology approach to identify potential targets for ED. Our study combined multi omics data integration, with siRNA screening, high content imaging and network analysis to prioritise key ED genes and identify a pro‐ and anti‐ED network. We found 26 genes that, upon silencing, exacerbated the ED phenotypes tested, and network propagation identified a pro‐ED network enriched in functions associated with inflammatory responses. Conversely, 31 genes ameliorated ED phenotypes, pointing to potential ED targets, and the respective anti‐ED network was enriched in hypoxia, angiogenesis and cancer‐related processes. An independent screen with 17 drugs found general agreement with the trends from our siRNA screen and further highlighted DUSP1, IL6 and CCL2 as potential candidates for targeting ED. Overall, our results demonstrate the potential of integrated system biology approaches in discovering disease‐specific candidate drug targets for endothelial dysfunction. Synopsis: Multi‐omics data integration, genetic and pharmacological perturbations, and network analysis on endothelial cells are combined to identify endothelial dysfunction network signatures and prioritise candidate therapeutic targets. Multi‐omics data integration of endothelial cells treated with mimics of major cardiovascular disease factors identified 81 putative endothelial dysfunction (ED) genes.Upon siRNA‐mediated gene knockdown, 83% of ED gene candidates affected at least one ED phenotype (26 exacerbating and 31 ameliorating the ED phenotypes).The analyses reveal emergent properties of disease networks, distinguishing between adaptation and rewiring for survival and those associated with deregulation that can be targeted for ED treatment.An orthogonal drug screen on treated endothelial cells provided additional support for DUSP1, IL6 and CCL2 as putative targets for ED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]