Transcriptomic Network Analysis Reveals Alcohol-Related Regulation of Cellular Senescence and Immune Signaling Pathways.

OBJECTIVE

Prolonged alcohol consumption is associated with immune system alterations, high blood pressure, and neurotoxicity. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a devastating disease worldwide that leads to several changes in the neurochemical balance within the brain. Moreover, the high incidence of certain cancers and the prevalence of infectious diseases among individuals with AUD demonstrate how alcohol impairs the immune system. Our research offers a new perspective on the important pathways and genes involved in the dynamic alterations of AUD progression.

METHOD: The methods used in this research include microarray data collection from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, functional enrichment analysis of gene sets, weighted gene co-expression network analysis to find regulated modules, and analysis of modules and identification of hub genes.

RESULTS

The findings showed that alcohol affects the expression of a wide range of genes, leading to significant changes in the regulation of biological processes and signaling pathways related to the cell cycle and cellular senescence. Some of the pathways significantly affected are polyubiquitination, NF-κB, FOXO, mTOR, P53, calcium, and PPAR signaling.

CONCLUSIONS

The expression of genes associated with cellular senescence is likely altered by alcohol and its related disorders.