Bioinformatic Identification of Key Genes and Molecular Pathways in the Spermatogenic Process of Cryptorchidism

This study aims to determine key genes and pathways that could play important roles in the spermatogenic process of patients with cryptorchidism. The identification of these molecules and pathways may help in understanding the etiology of cryptorchidism, and thereby reduce the incidence of cryptorchidism-induced azoospermia. The gene expression profile data of GSE25518 was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Microarray data were analyzed using BRB-Array Tools to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between high azoospermia risk (HAZR) patients and controls. In addition, other analytical methods were deployed, including hierarchical clustering analysis, class comparison between patients with HAZR and the normal control group, gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, and the construction of a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. In total, 1,015 upregulated genes and 1,650 downregulated genes were identified. GO and KEGG analysis revealed enrichment in terms of changes in the endoplasmic reticulum cellular component and the endoplasmic reticulum protein synthetic process in the HAZR group. Furthermore, the arachidonic acid pathway and mTOR pathway were also identified as important pathways, while RICTOR and GPX8 were indentified as key genes involved in the spermatogenic process of patients with cryptorchidism. In present study, we found that changes in the synthesis of endoplasmic retic...
Source: Genes and Diseases - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research