Transcriptome alterations and therapeutic drugs in different organs after spinal cord injury based on integrated bioinformatic analysis

Objective

To identify transcriptomic alterations and therapeutic drugs in different organs after spinal cord injury via comprehensive bioinformatics analyses.

Methods

RNA-sequencing data of the soleus muscle, bladder, liver, raphe, and sensorimotor cortex areas in various rat spinal cord injury models were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database for bioinformatics analysis. Then, the common pathways and biological pathway changes in multiple organs were identified.

Results

By comparing the enrichment results of differentially expressed genes, inflammatory response and lipid metabolism were found to be significantly altered in multiple organs. The MAPK signaling pathway was a key pathway in the abovementioned biological processes. In addition, autonomous repair was observed in each organ. Finally, pharmacological analysis showed that coenzyme A might be an effective drug.

Conclusion

Coenzyme A is a candidate treatment drug for spinal cord injury. Hence, in addition to the current mechanisms targeted by anti-inflammatory approaches, lipid metabolism can also be a treatment target for spinal cord injury.