Journal of Isfahan Medical School

Journal of Isfahan Medical School

Investigation of Structural Patterns in the Gene Expression Network of Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Document Type : Original Article (s)

Authors
Masoumeh Rashno
Fatemeh Bossaghzadeh
Zahra Khoshnood
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Dezful Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dezful, Iran
10.48305/jims.v43.i813.0429
Abstract
Background: Obsessive compulsive disorder is a multifaceted psychiatric condition characterized by intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. Genetic factors are one of the main causes of this disorder. By examining the structural patterns in the gene expression network of patients, this study uses a comprehensive weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to clarify the underlying molecular mechanisms of this disorder.
Methods: This study was done analytically on gene expression data from obsessive-compulsive disorder patients compared to a control group (healthy people). Candidate genes involved in the disease, proposed based on at least one method (in vivo, in vitro, or in silico), were extracted from the bioinformatics databases NCBI, GeneCards, Swiss-Prot, and Diseasome. Then, expression data were collected from in vivo, in vitro and in silico studies, and communication networks were drawn from the expression data of candidate genes using MATLAB and R software.
Findings: Based on the results of candidate protein communication network analysis, with the help of 5 component indicators of the highest degree of neighborhood, degree, distance, proximity and radius respectively, the 6 proteins SOX9, ACAN, RUNX2, COL1A1, COL2A1 and MMP13 had the highest frequency of being identified by these 5 metrics.
Conclusion: The structural patterns in the gene expression network showed that SOX9, ACAN, RUNX2, COL1A1, COL2A1, and MMP13 genes are particularly important in obsessive-compulsive patients compared to other candidate genes. This finding could aid in the development and analysis of a diagnostic gene panel for this disorder.

Highlights

Zahra Khoshnood: Google Scholar, PubMed

Keywords
Obsessive-compulsive patients
Structural patterns
Gene expression network

Subjects

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Journal of Isfahan Medical School
Volume 43, Issue 813
1st Week, July
July and August 2025
Pages 429-437

  • Receive Date 16 September 2024
  • Accept Date 01 July 2025