Bioinformatics analysis of immune cell infiltration, immune-related
genes, and signaling pathways in the blood of allergic rhinitis patients
Abstract
Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic inflammatory disease of
the upper respiratory tract, which has an increasing prevalence
worldwide. The aim of this study was to explore the associated immune
cell infiltration and molecular mechanisms of AR based on a
bioinformatics analysis. Methods: GSE43497 and GSE50223 datasets for
whole blood and CD4+ T cells, respectively were downloaded from the Gene
Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differences in AR-associated immune
cell infiltration were analyzed using CIBERSORT. A gene set enrichment
analysis (GSEA) was performed using clusterProfiler software. Results:
There was an upregulation in the proportion of CD8+ T cells, whereas
there was a significant down-regulation of neutrophils in the whole
blood of allergen-treated AR patients compared to diluent-treated
patients. A correlation was identified between immune cells and
immune-related genes. NF-kappa B and Toll-like receptor signaling
pathways were also positively regulated in AR patients following
allergen treatment. CD4+ T cell genes and associated cytokines
significantly differed in allergen-treated AR patients compared to
healthy and diluent-treated AR patients. Conclusion: Our analysis
revealed that T cell receptor signaling pathways and Th1/Th2 cell
differentiation may be involved in the mechanism of AR development. This
study is the first bioinformatic analysis identifying immune cell
infiltration and its underlying mechanism in AR from combined microarray
data and provides novel insight for further research into the molecular
mechanisms of AR.