Identifying molecular subgroups of patients with preeclampsia through bioinformatics

TL;DR

This study uses bioinformatics to identify two molecular subgroups of preeclampsia patients, which could help improve diagnosis and treatment strategies.

Contribution

The novel contribution is the identification of distinct molecular subgroups of preeclampsia using bioinformatics and clustering methods.

Findings

Two molecular subgroups of preeclampsia patients were identified based on gene expression profiles.

Subgroup II showed significant enrichment of calcium ion channels, suggesting potential benefits from calcium antagonists and magnesium sulfate therapy.

Abstract

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-related disorder associated with serious complications. Its molecular mechanisms remain undefined; hence, we aimed to identify molecular subgroups of patients with PE using bioinformatics to aid treatment strategies. R software was used to analyze gene expression data of 130 patients with PE and 138 healthy individuals from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Patients with PE were divided into two molecular subgroups using the unsupervised clustering learning method. Clinical feature analysis of subgroups using weighted gene co-expression network analysis showed that the patients in subgroup I were primarily characterized by early onset of PE, severe symptoms at disease onset, and induced labor as the main delivery method. Patients in subgroup II primarily exhibited late PE onset, relatively mild symptoms, and natural delivery as the main delivery method. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses revealed that the significant enrichment of calcium ion channels in subgroup II indicated the potential efficacy of calcium antagonists and magnesium sulfate therapy. In conclusion, the establishment of PE molecular subgroups can aid in diagnosing and treating PE.

Figures