Bioinformatics analysis of hepatic fibrosis based on hepatic stellate cells

Objective:To analyze differentially expressed genes in human hepatic stellate cells(HSCs)based on data from the GEO database and to identify important target genes for hepatic fibrosis(HF).Methods:In GEO database,microarray GSE11954 of the GEO database was used to obtain data on differential gene expression in human HSCs and was analyzed using GEO2R,using a P value of<0.01 and log2FC value of≥2 for the screening.The genes were input into the DAVID database for enrichment analysis of genes and pathways,followed by protein interaction analysis and module analysis.The results were compared with the results found through text mining.Results:Two hundred sixty two differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were identified.The results of gene bulk enrichment showed that the functional molecules encoded by the DEGS were mainly located in the cytoplasm,extracellular matrix and nucleosome,while the molecular functions were mainly related to"regulating actin binding","protein kinase binding"and"kinase activity".The biological processes they were found to be involved in"regulating cell division","immune response"and"collagen decomposition reaction".KEGG signaling pathway analysis found that they were mainly involved in"cell cycle signaling pathway","ECM receptor interaction signaling pathway","p53 signaling pathway"and"FOXO signaling pathway".Text mining results suggested that MMP1 and ETV6 are potential molecular targets for HF therapy.Conclusion:The results of bioinformatics analysis identified targets and signaling pathways involved in the pathogenesis of HF,but these require further experimental verification.