Abstract:

Objective To discuss the differentially expressed genes in severe bronchial asthma ［severe asthma （SA）］ by bioinformatics methods and analyze their mechanisms， and to screen the traditional Chinese medicines and their active components with potential therapeutic effects. Methods The GSE136587 and GSE158752 datasets were selected from the Gene Expression Omnibus （GEO） Database； R software was used for the differential analysis to obtain the differentially expressed gene； the protein-protein interaction （PPI） network analysis was used to screen the core genes， and the key pathways and hub genes were identified. The core genes were uploaded to the Coremine Database to screen for the traditional Chinese medicines with the potential therapeutic effects， and the relevant Chinese herbal prescriptions were searched in Chinese Medical Dictionary. Results A total of 466 differentially expressed genes were screened. The PPI network constructed through the STRING platform led to the selection of synaptosomal associated protein 25 kDa （SNAP25）， glutamate ionotropic receptor AMPA type subunit 2 （GRIA2）， neurexin 1 （NRXN1）， potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily a member 1 （KCNA1）， synaptotagmin 1 （SYT1）， and chromogranin A （CHGA）. The Gene Ontology （GO） functional enrichment analysis results showed that the biological processes of SA were significantly related to the cellular chemotaxis and leukocyte migration. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） signaling pathways enrichment mainly involve bone marrow leukocyte migration，leukocyte chemotaxis，cell chemotaxis，leukocyte migaration， up-regulation of outside stimulus， and bone marrow leukocyte activation signaling pathways. Network pharmacology was applied to screen for 367 traditional Chinese medicines with potential therapeutic effects based on the core targets. Among them， ginseng， water buffalo horn， scorpio， and astragalus， which involve multiple core targets， were highly related to SA. A total of 17 potential Chinese herbal prescriptions with therapeutic effects were retrieved from Chinese Medical Dictionary. Conclusion The bioinformatics screening of potential biomarkers and traditional Chinese medicines with therapeutic effects for SA provides the new targets for the early diagnosis and research on the pathogenesis of SA， and offers new insights into the development of herbal prescriptions for its treatment.

Key words: Severe asthma, Differentially expressed gene, Bioinformatics, Screening of Chinese medicine