Transcriptomic Analysis of Retinal Gene in Experimental Retinal Detachment Rats and Exploration of S100A9 and TLR4 in Human Vitreous

Abstract

Purpose

To screen for the differentially expressed genes in experimental retinal detachment rats, and to explore the expression of S100 calcium-binding protein A9 and Toll-like receptor 4 in the vitreous of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment patients.

Methods

Three rats of experimental retinal detachment and three normal rats were enrolled in the study. Transcriptomics (RNAseq) sequencing technology was used to screen differentially expressed genes in the retinas of the experimental retinal detachment group and the normal group. The selected differentially expressed genes for gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functional enrichment analysis were performed. In addition, the vitreous of 15 patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and six patients with the control group were collected. The expressions of S100 calcium-binding protein A9 and Toll-like receptor 4 were detected by Elisa, and the differences in expression levels were analyzed statistically.

Results

A total of 198 differentially expressed genes were screened by RNAseq sequencing, including 118 upregulated genes and 80 downregulated genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis confirmed that the most enriched pathway was the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. Compared to the normal group, the expressions of suppressor of cytokine signaling-3, Storkhead box-2, S100 calcium-binding protein A9, Spi-1 proto-oncogene, phosphodiesterase 1B, and kinesin-light chain 1 mRNA in the retinas of the experimental retinal detachment rats were up-regulated, and the expressions of Max interacting protein 1 and the voltage-gated sodium 1 were down-regulated. Compared to the control group, the expressions of S100 calcium-binding protein A9 and Toll-like receptor 4 were upregulated by Elisa in the vitreous humor of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment patients with a statistically significant difference (p all <.05).

Conclusion

The differentially expressed genes of experimental retinal detachment rats were suppressor of cytokine signaling-3, Storkhead box-2, S100 calcium-binding protein A9, Spi-1 proto-oncogene, phosphodiesterase 1B, kinesin-light chain 1, Max interacting protein 1, voltage-gated sodium 1, etc. The differences of S100 calcium-binding protein A9 and Toll-like receptor 4 expressions between the rhegmatogenous retinal detachment patients and the control group were statistically significant, indicating that they may play a potential role in the inflammatory process of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment.

Keywords:

• Retinal detachment
• differentially expressed genes
• S100A9
• TLR4

Acknowledgements

Thanks for the help and support from the central laboratory and colleagues in the department of Ophthalmology.

Author contributions

LT and KD designed the research study. JW performed the research. LL, FJ, ZY, LW, and GK provided help and advice. GZ analyzed the data. JW wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to editorial changes in the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethical approval

This study followed the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Hospital Ethics Review Committee (2020-N-(H)-086).

Consent form

The patients signed the informed consent forms.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

More information at: https://bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82070977), the United Funds of New Medicine of USTC (No. YD9110002013), the project supported by Scientific Research Project Funding of Anhui Provincial Education Department (2022AH040191), and the project supported by the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China (No. 2019ZC047).