Identification of Potential Biomarkers and Treatment Targets in Retinal Detachment

Retinal detachment (RD), separation of the neurosensory retina away from its underlying layer of support tissue (retinal pigment epithelium), can be a severe eye condition that affects on vision and can lead to blindness if not treated. Understanding the pathological mechanism of RD help us to the treatment of RD patients.

In this study, the gene expression profile was downloaded from the GEO database and were analyzed in the samples of patients with RD and control cases. Then, the STRING online database was used for the reconstruction protein-protein interaction network, and then the important signaling pathways and critical biomarkers involved in RD were assessed by resulting network analysis and extraction of functional modules. Furthermore, we used the miRWalk online database to extract miRNAs related to identified genes. Finally, the DGIdb online database was used for extracting drug-target interactions.

We extracted differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using the independent t-test with adj.P.Val<.05 and |log2-fold change|>=2. So, 196 DEGs were obtained for RD (36 and 160 genes were identified as down and upregulated genes, respectively). There is significant evidence that activation of the phototransduction cascade, interferon signaling, immune response, and cytokine signaling in the immune system are involved pathways that have a significant role in RD. as well as our finding indicates that up-regulation of HLA-C, HLA-A, HLA –B and HLA –E involved in the inflammatory response and C1QA, C1QB the members of the complement pathway are strictly correlated with RD. Subsequently, the PPI network was extracted from STRING. This network showed 196 genes and 183 interactions and alsoextracted three functional modules from the PPI network. Then, we used the miRWalk database and extracted 30 miRNAs. Finally, we proposed three miRNAs for the treatment of RD.

Our results indicate activation of some inflammatory signaling and cell death in RD. Hence, we suggested some mRNAs,miRNAs, and drugs as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets in RD.