# From genes to diagnosis: The impact of UNC5B and DOK5 in intracranial aneurysm detection and pathogenesis

**Authors:** Zekun Ma, Pengfei Wu, Alimasi Abulizi, Wenbo Yang, Aierpati Maimaiti, Paziliya Akram, Zengliang Wang

PMC · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0340496 · PLOS One · 2026-03-13

## TL;DR

This study identifies UNC5B and DOK5 as potential diagnostic biomarkers for intracranial aneurysms and explores their role in disease development.

## Contribution

The study introduces UNC5B and DOK5 as novel diagnostic biomarkers for intracranial aneurysms using machine learning and immune infiltration analysis.

## Key findings

- UNC5B and DOK5 were identified as potential diagnostic biomarkers with high efficacy using machine learning techniques.
- UNC5B expression in fibroblasts is linked to intracranial aneurysm pathogenesis and correlates with M1 macrophage presence.
- Immune infiltration analysis revealed elevated M1 macrophages in intracranial aneurysm patients.

## Abstract

Intracranial aneurysms exhibit a notable prevalence within the general population, characterized by an incidence rate ranging from 1% to 2% and an annual rupture rate of approximately 16.4 per 100,000 individuals.Genes that are diagnostic and therapeutic are being investigated in this study linked to intracranial aneurysms by integrating machine learning, immune infiltration analysis, and single-gene sequencing.

Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified based on microarray data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database between individuals with intracranial aneurysms and healthy controls.The DEGs were functionally analyzed using Gene Ontology (GO),Disease Ontology (DO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways.Diagnostic biomarkers were identified and validated using machine learning algorithms and confirmed with external validation datasets.Subsequently, circulating biomarkers were assessed, and immune cell infiltration analysis along with single-cell sequencing were employed to elucidate the functional roles of the selected diagnostic biomarkers.

It was found that intracranial aneurysm patients and healthy controls shared 13,101 DEGs, with 1,108 genes upregulated and 969 downregulated.Aneurysms containing intracranial aneurysms showed significant immunoresponse-related enrichment in GO,DO,and KEGG pathway analyses.Technologies based on machine learning, such as LASSO, Random Forest, and SVM-RFE(Support Vector Machine-Recursive Feature Elimination), identified UNC5B and DOK5 as potential diagnostic biomarkers with high efficacy. Immune cell infiltration analysis indicated an elevated presence of various immune cells in intracranial aneurysms, particularly M1 macrophages.The UNC5B gene expression in fibroblasts is linked to intracranial aneurysm pathogenesis.

In conclusion, the UNC5B and DOK5 genes emerge as potential diagnostic biomarkers for intracranial aneurysms.There is a positive correlation between UNC5B expression and M1 macrophages and it is primarily found in fibroblasts, suggesting that increased M1 macrophages and UNC5B expression in fibroblasts may contribute to intracranial aneurysm pathogenesis.

## Linked entities

- **Genes:** UNC5B (unc-5 netrin receptor B) [NCBI Gene 219699], DOK5 (docking protein 5) [NCBI Gene 55816]

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** MMP2 (matrix metallopeptidase 2) [NCBI Gene 4313] {aka CLG4, CLG4A, MMP-2, MMP-II, MONA, TBE-1}, CD8A (CD8 subunit alpha) [NCBI Gene 925] {aka CD8, CD8alpha, IMD116, Leu2, p32}, KRT14 (keratin 14) [NCBI Gene 3861] {aka CK14, EBS1, EBS1A, EBS1B, EBS1C, EBS1D}, DOK5 (docking protein 5) [NCBI Gene 55816] {aka C20orf180, IRS-6, IRS6}, CD4 (CD4 molecule) [NCBI Gene 920] {aka CD4mut, IMD79, Leu-3, OKT4D, T4}, Dok5 (docking protein 5) [NCBI Gene 76829] {aka 2700055C10Rik}, Apc (APC, WNT signaling pathway regulator) [NCBI Gene 11789] {aka CC1, Min, mAPC}, CHST15 (carbohydrate sulfotransferase 15) [NCBI Gene 51363] {aka BRAG, GALNAC4S-6ST}, UNC5B (unc-5 netrin receptor B) [NCBI Gene 219699] {aka UNC5H2, p53RDL1}, FHOD3 (formin homology 2 domain containing 3) [NCBI Gene 80206] {aka CMH28, FHOS2, Formactin2}, ICAM1 (intercellular adhesion molecule 1) [NCBI Gene 3383] {aka BB2, CD54, P3.58}, NTN1 (netrin 1) [NCBI Gene 9423] {aka MRMV4, NET1, NTN1L}, Unc5b (unc-5 netrin receptor B) [NCBI Gene 107449] {aka 6330415E02Rik, A630020F16, D10Bwg0792e, Unc5h2}, VCAM1 (vascular cell adhesion molecule 1) [NCBI Gene 7412] {aka CD106, INCAM-100}, Nfkb1 (nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B cells 1, p105) [NCBI Gene 18033] {aka NF-KB1, NF-kappaB, NF-kappaB1, p105, p50, p50/p105}, ZIC2 (Zic family zinc finger 2) [NCBI Gene 7546] {aka HPE5}, THBS1 (thrombospondin 1) [NCBI Gene 7057] {aka THBS, THBS-1, TSP, TSP-1, TSP1}, MMP9 (matrix metallopeptidase 9) [NCBI Gene 4318] {aka CLG4B, GELB, MANDP2, MMP-9}, TNF (tumor necrosis factor) [NCBI Gene 7124] {aka DIF, IMD127, TNF-alpha, TNFA, TNFSF2, TNLG1F}, ASPA (aspartoacylase) [NCBI Gene 443] {aka ACY2, ASP}, IL1B (interleukin 1 beta) [NCBI Gene 3553] {aka IL-1, IL1-BETA, IL1F2, IL1beta}
- **Diseases:** Nausea (MESH:D009325), subarachnoid hemorrhage (MESH:D013345), Aneurysms (MESH:D000783), dilation of cerebral arteries (MESH:D002539), Dyslipidemia (MESH:D050171), lethargy (MESH:D053609), obesity (MESH:D009765), renal impairments (MESH:D007674), vasospasm (MESH:D020301), metastasis (MESH:D009362), age (MESH:D019588), aortic aneurysm infection (MESH:D000785), endothelial (MESH:D005642), alcohol abuse (MESH:D000437), multiple endocrine neoplasias (MESH:D009377), cardiovascular and neurological diseases (MESH:D002318), hyperthyroidism (MESH:D006980), aortic diseases (MESH:D001018), inflammatory cytokines (MESH:D000080424), loss of consciousness (MESH:D014474), medullary thyroid carcinoma (MESH:C536914), aneurysm rupture (MESH:D017542), atherosclerosis (MESH:D050197), headache (MESH:D006261), reperfusion injury (MESH:D015427), melanoma (MESH:D008545), metabolic abnormalities (MESH:D008659), cerebrovascular disorders (MESH:D002561), rupture (MESH:D012421), myocardial infarction (MESH:D009203), tumor (MESH:D009369), visual disturbances (MESH:D014786), meningismus (MESH:D008580), confusion (MESH:D003221), Staphylococcus aureus infection (MESH:D013203), graft-versus-host disease (MESH:D006086), inflammation (MESH:D007249), allergies (MESH:D004342), vomiting (MESH:D014839), myocardial ischemia (MESH:D017202), congenital structural defects (MESH:D020914), IA (MESH:D002532)
- **Chemicals:** phenylalanine (MESH:D010649), cholesterol (MESH:D002784), calcium (MESH:D002118), fatty acids (MESH:D005227), lipid (MESH:D008055), triglycerides (MESH:D014280)
- **Species:** Mus musculus (house mouse, species) [taxon 10090], Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Rattus norvegicus (brown rat, species) [taxon 10116]

## Full text

_Full body text omitted from this summary view._ Fetch the complete paper as Markdown: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12987431/full.md

## Figures

6 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12987431/full.md

## References

56 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12987431/full.md

---
Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12987431