Analyzing Functional Pathways and constructing gene-gene network for Narcolepsy based on candidate genes.

Aims: To investigate the interactions among narcolepsy-associated genes and reveal the pathways these genes involved through bioinformatics analyses.

Methods

The study was performed with the following steps: 1) Selected the previously discovered narcolepsy risk genes through literature review, 2) pathway enrichment analysis, and construction of gene-gene and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks for narcolepsy.

Results

1) GO analysis revealed the positive regulation of interferon-gamma production as the most enriched terms in biological process, and C-C chemokine receptor activity as the most enriched term in molecular function, 2) KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed selective enrichment of genes in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction signaling pathways, and 3) five hub genes were identified (IFNAR1, IL10RB, DNMT1, TNFSF4 and NFATC2).

Conclusion

The bioinformatics results provide new insights into the molecular pathogenesis of narcolepsy and the identification of potential therapeutic targets for narcolepsy treatment.