Screening of target genes for bile acid metabolism in Crohn's disease and its value in disease diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring
- VernacularTitle:克罗恩病胆汁酸代谢靶点基因筛选及在疾病诊断和治疗监测中的价值
- Author:
Hui CHEN
1
;
Lu ZHANG
;
Jing CHEN
;
Nanzhang WANG
;
Ruochun WANG
;
Cuihua LU
;
Yifei JI
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords: Crohn's disease; inflammatory bowel disease; biologics; bile acid metabolism; bioinformatics; engineered tissue construction
- From: Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2025;29(32):7028-7040
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
- Abstract: BACKGROUND:Bile acid metabolism plays a crucial role in the development and progression of Crohn's disease.There is no research on changes in bile acid metabolism and key target genes following treatment with biological agents.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the expression characteristics of bile acid metabolism-related genes in patients with Crohn's disease,identify key genes associated with response to biological agents.METHODS:Transcriptome data were obtained through the GEO database to analyze differentially expressed genes between inflammation-control groups and inflammation-treatment groups.GO,KEGG,and GSEA enrichment analyses were used to evaluate the effects of biological agent therapy on bile acid metabolism.Protein-protein interaction network and WGCNA algorithm were employed to analyze differentially expressed genes,identifying modules closely related to biological agent treatment response,which led to the determination of UGT2A3 as a key gene in bile acid metabolism.In the inflammation group of the GSE186582 dataset,samples were divided into high and low expression groups based on UGT2A3 levels to study its relationship with immune infiltration and explore the interaction between UGT2A3 and the immune microenvironment.Clinical characteristics and intestinal manifestations were compared between high and low expression groups,and correlations between UGT2A3 and clinical indicators(C-reactive protein,erythrocyte sedimentation rate,Crohn's disease activity index,and Crohn's disease endoscopic activity score)were investigated.The competing endogenous RNA regulatory network of UGT2A3 was constructed,and its upstream miRNA was functionally enriched to explore the molecular mechanism of UGT2A3 in bile acid metabolism.Single-cell analysis and clustering were performed using high-throughput sequencing data of GSE134809 to observe the expression of UGT2A3 in different samples and cell populations.Colon tissue samples from untreated and biologic-treated Crohn's disease patients and healthy colon tissue samples from patients with intestinal polyps were collected,and UGT2A3 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry,qRT-PCR,and western blot assay.Fresh feces from Crohn's disease patients and healthy controls were collected to detect bile acid levels,and the relationship between UGT2A3 and fecal bile acid levels was analyzed.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:A total of 11 bile acid metabolism-related genes were screened,showing significant changes in gene expression after biological agent therapy.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that intestinal nutrient absorption and metabolic processes normalized after treatment,while leukocyte chemotaxis and inflammatory response pathway activity decreased.GSEA analysis revealed significant enrichment of bile acid metabolism-related pathways after treatment.Protein-protein interaction network construction and WGCNA analysis identified UGT2A3 as a key gene closely associated with treatment response.UGT2A3 expression was significantly decreased in inflamed tissues of Crohn's disease patients and returned to normal levels after biological agent therapy.This result was confirmed in clinical specimens.UGT2A3 expression levels showed significant negative correlations with C-reactive protein,erythrocyte sedimentation rate,Crohn's Disease Activity Index,and Crohn's Disease Endoscopic Index of Severity.Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that UGT2A3 has good diagnostic value(Area Under Curve AUC=0.801 0)and effectively reflects treatment outcomes.Immune infiltration analysis showed significantly increased infiltration of various immune cells in samples with low UGT2A3 expression,and its expression levels negatively correlated with immune scores,microenvironment scores,and stromal scores.Compared with the low UGT2A3 expression group,patients with high expression showed less fecal occult blood and penetrating inflammation,with milder intestinal strictures and general condition severity.Fecal bile acid analysis revealed that UGT2A3 expression strongly negatively correlated with primary bile acid content and strongly positively correlated with secondary bile acid content.
