Study on differentially expressed genes and participating pathways of ectopic endometrium in adenomyosis patients with different data sets

Background: Adenomyosis is a benign uterine disease and affected patients present with symptoms such as menorrhagia, chronic pelvic pain, abnormal uterine bleeding, and infertility. However, the specific mechanisms by which adenomyosis occurs need to be further studied. Objective: Dataset of adenomyosis from our hospital and a public database were analyzed using bioinformatics. Corresponding differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and gene enrichment were detected to explore potential genetic adenomyosis targets. Methods: Clinical data on adenomyosis were accessed based on the pathological specimens of patients with adenomyosis obtained from the Shengjing Hospital. R software was used to screen for DEGs, and volcano and cluster maps were drawn. Adenomyosis datasets (GSE74373) were downloaded from the GEO database. GEO2R online tool was used to screen for DEGs between adenomyosis and normal controls. Genes with P < 0.01 and | logFC| >1 were selected as DEGs. DAVID software was used for functional and pathway enrichment analyses. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were performed on common DEGs to obtain descriptions of the genes. The online database STRING was used for interaction gene retrieval. Moreover, Cytoscape software was used to construct a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network map for common DEGs to visualize potential gene interactions and screen the hub genes. Results: A total of 845 DEGs were identified in the dataset obtained from Shengjing Hospital. A total of 175 genes were downregulated, and 670 genes were upregulated. In the GSE74373 database, 1679 genes were differentially expressed, 916 genes were downregulated, and 763 genes were upregulated. A total of 40 downregulated and 148 upregulated common DEGs showed potential gene interactions. The top ten upregulated hub genes were CDH1, EPCAM, CLDN7, ESRP1, RAB25, SPINT1, PKP3, TJP3, GRHL2, and CDKN2A. Conclusion: Genes involved in tight junction may be key in the development of adenomyosis and may provide a potential treatment strategy for adenomyosis.

Automated summary

By using bioinformatics analysis, this study explored the potential genetic targets of adenomyosis. The results suggest that genes involved in tight junction may play a key role in the development of adenomyosis and could be a potential treatment strategy.