Identification of crucial genes in intracranial aneurysm based on weighted gene coexpression network analysis

The rupture of intracranial aneurysm (IA) is the leading cause for devastating subarachnoid hemorrhage. This study aimed to investigate genes related to IA and potential diagnosis targets. Two data sets (GSE15629 and GSE54083) were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database. GSE15629 contained eight RI (ruptured IA), six UI (unruptured IA) and five control IA samples. GSE54083 included 8 RI, 5 UI and 10 superficial temporal artery samples. In total, 452 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between RI and control, and 570 DEGs between UI and control, were identified. Protein-protein interaction networks for two kinds of DEGs related to RI and UI were constructed, respectively. Module networks were searched for DEGs related to RI or UI based on WGCNA (weighted gene coexpression network analysis). In the significant modules, FOS, CCL2, COL4A2 and CXCL5 were screened as crucial nodes with high degrees. Among them, FOS and CCL2 were enriched in immune response and COL4A2 was involved in the ECM (extracellular matrix) pathway, whereas CXCL5 was related to cytokine-cytokine receptor pathway. Taken together, FOS, CCL2, COL4A2 and CXCL5 might participate in the pathogenesis of RI or UI, and could serve as potential diagnosis targets.