Multi-omics analysis reveals the interaction between the complement system and the coagulation cascade in the development of endometriosis

Sci Rep. 2021 Jun 7;11(1):11926. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-90112-x.

Abstract

Endometriosis (EMS) is a disease that shows immune dysfunction and chronic inflammation characteristics, suggesting a role of complement system in its pathophysiology. To find out the hub genes and pathways involved in the pathogenesis of EMs, three raw microarray datasets were recruited from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO). Then, a series of bioinformatics technologies including gene ontology (GO), Hallmark pathway enrichment, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and gene co-expression correlation analysis were performed to identify hub genes. The hub genes were further verified by the Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western Blot (WB). We identified 129 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in EMs, of which 78 were up-regulated and 51 were down-regulated. Through GO functional enrichment analysis, we found that the DEGs are mainly enriched in cell adhesion, extracellular matrix remodeling, chemokine regulation, angiogenesis regulation, epithelial cell proliferation, et al. In Hallmark pathway enrichment analysis, coagulation pathway showed great significance and the terms in which included the central complement factors. Moreover, the genes were dominating in PPI network. Combined co-expression analysis with experimental verification, we found that the up-regulated expression of complement (C1S, C1QA, C1R, and C3) was positively related to tissue factor (TF) in EMs. In this study, we discovered the over expression complement and the positive correlation between complement and TF in EMs, which suggested that interaction of complement and coagulation system may play a role within the pathophysiology of EMS.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Blood Coagulation Factors / genetics*
  • Blood Coagulation Factors / metabolism
  • Complement C1q / genetics
  • Complement C1q / metabolism
  • Complement C1r / genetics
  • Complement C1r / metabolism
  • Complement C1s / genetics
  • Complement C1s / metabolism
  • Complement C3 / genetics
  • Complement C3 / metabolism
  • Complement System Proteins / genetics*
  • Complement System Proteins / metabolism
  • Endometriosis / genetics*
  • Endometriosis / metabolism
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling / methods*
  • Gene Ontology
  • Gene Regulatory Networks
  • Humans
  • Protein Interaction Maps / genetics
  • Signal Transduction / genetics
  • Thromboplastin / genetics
  • Thromboplastin / metabolism

Substances

  • Blood Coagulation Factors
  • C1QA protein, human
  • Complement C3
  • Complement C1q
  • Complement System Proteins
  • Thromboplastin
  • Complement C1r
  • Complement C1s