Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41212370›Full record

ArticleClinical rheumatology2026

Identification of five novel hub genes associated with interstitial lung disease in primary Sjögren's syndrome via transcriptome sequencing.

Zhou Junfei, Zhao Zhen, Qiang Fu, Gao Meihua, Lei Zhidan, Liu Yajing, TianShu Chu, Shi Lipu

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Article in Clinical rheumatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Zhou JunfeiDepartment of Rheumatology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, No. 7, Weiwu Road, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8445-7769
Zhao ZhenDepartment of Rheumatology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, No. 7, Weiwu Road, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
Qiang FuDepartment of Rheumatology and Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital,, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China,, Hengyang, 421001, China.
Gao MeihuaDepartment of Geriatrics, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
Lei ZhidanDepartment of Radiology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
Liu YajingDepartment of Respiratory, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
TianShu ChuDepartment of Rheumatology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, No. 7, Weiwu Road, Zhengzhou, 450000, China. qiufeng919890183@zzu.edu.cn.
Shi LipuDepartment of Rheumatology, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, No. 7, Weiwu Road, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.

Funding

Hunan Office of Philosophy and Social Science 22C0214Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province 2023JJ40582
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInterstitial lung disease (ILD) is a severe pulmonary complication of primary Sjögren's Syndrome (pSS), associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Identifying molecular markers and hub genes in pSS-associated ILD (pSS-ILD) may provide novel therapeutic targets.

methodsPeripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from pSS patients (n = 9), pSS-ILD patients (n = 6), and healthy controls (n = 15) for transcriptome sequencing. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between pSS and controls (DEGs-SS) and between pSS-ILD and pSS groups (DEGs-SS-ILD). Overlapping DEGs were analyzed to identify hub genes using Cytohubba in Cytoscape. Functional enrichment, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), Spearman's correlation analysis, and immune infiltration analyses were performed. Potential drugs targeting hub genes were predicted, and molecular docking was conducted. Hub gene expression was validated using reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR).

resultsA total of 932 DEGs-SS and 186 DEGs-SS-ILD were identified, with 78 overlapping genes. Five hub genes (IFIT2, IFIT3, LY6E, IFI27, and ISG15) were identified. IFIT2-IFIT3 and ISG15-LY6E showed strong expression correlations (correlation coefficient = 0.943, p < 0.05) and functional similarities. Immune infiltration analysis revealed a significant decrease in resting natural killer (NK) cells in pSS patients compared to controls, which was further reduced in pSS-ILD patients. Bisphenol A was identified as a potential therapeutic compound targeting IFIT3, IFIT2, LY6E, and IFI27, with high binding affinity (binding energy = -6.26 kJ/mol). RT-qPCR validation confirmed the differential expression of hub genes, consistent with bioinformatics findings.

conclusionThe hub genes IFIT2, IFIT3, LY6E, IFI27, and ISG15 represent potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for pSS-ILD. These findings provide novel insights into the molecular mechanisms and potential treatments for pSS-ILD.

Indexed as

Lung Diseases, InterstitialSjogren's SyndromeTranscriptomeAdultAgedCase-Control StudiesFemaleGene Expression ProfilingHumansIntracellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsLeukocytes, MononuclearMaleMembrane ProteinsMiddle AgedIFI27 protein, humanIFIT3 protein, humanIntracellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsMembrane ProteinsBisphenol AHub genesImmune microenvironmentInterstitial lung diseasePrimary Sjögren’s syndromeTranscriptome sequencing

Identifiers

PMID41212370

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.