Therapeutic Insights and Immune Pathway Connections Revealed by Core Symptom Gene Network Analysis in Ankylosing Spondylitis.

ABSTRACT: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) exhibits marked clinical heterogeneity that is poorly captured by conventional disease-centric analyses, hindering the development of personalized therapies. We propose a symptom-centered network pharmacology framework that directly links individual clinical symptoms to their underlying molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets. AS- and symptom-associated genes were collected from GeneCards and prioritized using centrality analysis within protein-protein interaction networks. Symptom relevance was validated using patient-derived transcriptomic datasets. Network proximity between symptom modules and FDA-approved drug targets was assessed. A refined gene set, integrating TNF-associated neighbors and highly central nodes, was subjected to pathway enrichme

SUBMITTER: Choi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12939522 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature