Gene Regulatory Network Analysis of Perivascular Adipose Tissue of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Identifies Master Regulators of Key Pathogenetic Pathways.

ABSTRACT: The lack of medical therapy to treat abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) stems from our inadequate understanding of the mechanisms underlying AAA pathogenesis. To date, the only available treatment option relies on surgical intervention, which aims to prevent AAA rupture. Identifying specific regulators of pivotal pathogenetic mechanisms would allow the development of novel treatments. With this work, we sought to identify regulatory factors associated with co-expressed genes characterizing the diseased perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) of AAA patients, which is crucially involved in AAA pathogenesis. We applied a reverse engineering approach to identify cis-regulatory elements of diseased PVAT genes, the associated transcription factors, and upstream regulators. Finally, by analyzing the top

SUBMITTER: Piacentini L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7459520 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature