Identification of mitochondria-related biomarkers for acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Mitochondria-related genes (MRGs) are considered screening MRGs as biomarkers for important therapeutic targets, but their role in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains unclear. This study aimed to identify MRGs-related biomarkers for ARDS. Intersection of 2030 MRGs with 343 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between sepsis-non-ARDS and sepsis-ARDS group yielded 20 MRGs-related DEGs enriched in mitochondrion-related pathways. Monocytes, T cells, natural killer (NK) T cells, NK cells, and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) were screened as candidate key cell types. SLC2A1 and IFI27 were defined as biomarkers; naive B cells, resting NK cells, and naive CD4 T cells, as differential immune cells; and monocytes, as the key cell type, subdivided into the CD14 and CD16 subtypes. The sepsis-ARDS group exhibited enhanced CD14 Mono and B cells compared with the sepsis-non-ARDS group and CD16 had a higher percentage and score in the G2/M and S phases than CD14. IFI27 and SLC2A1 were mainly expressed differently in the CD14 monocytes in ARDS, and their mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood of the sepsis patients was upregulated compared with those of the healthy controls. Thus, our findings demonstrate that SLC2A1 and IFI27 represent novel MRGs-related diagnostic biomarkers for ARDS, providing theoretical references for its treatment.