Key Genes and Under Acute High-Altitude Exposure: A Gene Expression and Network Analysis Based on Expression Profile Data

Overview

Journal Genes (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Date 2024 Aug 29

PMID 39202434

Authors

Yifan Zhao

Lingling Zhu

Dawei Shi

Jiayue Gao

Ming Fan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

High-altitude acclimatization refers to the physiological adjustments and adaptation processes by which the human body gradually adapts to the hypoxic conditions of high altitudes after entering such environments. This study analyzed three mRNA expression profile datasets from the GEO database, focusing on 93 healthy residents from low altitudes (≤1400 m). Peripheral blood samples were collected for analysis on the third day after these individuals rapidly ascended to higher altitudes (3000-5300 m). The analysis identified significant differential expression in 382 genes, with 361 genes upregulated and 21 downregulated. Further, gene ontology (GO) annotation analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis indicated that the top-ranked enriched pathways are upregulated, involving blood gas transport, erythrocyte development and differentiation, and heme biosynthetic process. Network analysis highlighted ten key genes, namely, , , , , , , , , , and . Analysis revealed that two of these key genes, and , play a critical role in the heme biosynthetic process, which is pivotal in the development and maturation of red blood cells. These findings provide new insights into the key gene mechanisms of high-altitude acclimatization and identify potential biomarkers and targets for personalized acclimatization strategies.

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