Potential relationships between uveitis and COVID-19: a bioinformatic study based on CEO database

Abstract

Purpose Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been a great impact on human survival and a great threat to public health in countries all over the world. The link between COVID-19 and ocular illness has received increasing attention due to SARS-CoV-2 infection can be transmitted through eye contact. Using bioinformatics methods, we sought to investigate the potential molecular mechanisms between uveitis and COVID-19, providing rationales and directions for further exploration. Methods Transcriptomic data of uveitis and COVID-19 patient blood samples were accessed from the Gene Expression Omnibus public database. Common differentially expressed genes were identified. Genetic Ontology analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, Protein-Protein Interaction network analysis were performed on intersected genes. We screened 5 hub genes by using the maximum clustering centrality algorithm. The Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator regression analysis identified the potential biomarkers for uveitis and COVID-19. Finally, the expression level and diagnostic value of the biomarker in the two diseases were determined. Results 50 intersected genes were extracted from differential expression analysis in uveitis and COVID-19. These genes were functionally enriched in cytokine-mediated signaling pathway, vesicle lumen, receptor ligand activity. Through KEGG analysis, these genes were found to be involved in viral protein interaction with cytokine and cytokine receptor, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. HORMAD1 was obtained by Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator regression analysis, which was high expression in both uveitis and COVID-19 when compared to controls. Receiver Operating Characteristic values and AUC statistics indicated that HORMAD1 had diagnostic value for uveitis and COVID-19. Conclusions Bioinformatic analysis predicts HORMAD1 involvement in etiology and therapeutic targets of uveitis and COVID-19. However, additional clinical trials and studies are needed to confirm the role of HORMAD1.