Evaluation of the Genes and Molecular Pathways Involved in Skin Lesions in Patients with COVID-19: Systems Biology and Bioinformatics Analysis Approach

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in 2019 in Wuhan, China. Initially, although the number of COVID-19-infected individuals was very low, the infected cases increased as the virus spread worldwide. Skin manifestation is one of the symptoms observed in COVID-19 patients.

This study investigated the critical genes and molecular pathways involved in skin manifestations in COVID-19 patients through a biological system approach.

In this study, the microarray dataset was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and analyzed for identifying differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The enrichment analysis of DEGs was evaluated using the DAVID database. Afterward, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed via the STRING database and visualized using Cytoscape software. The hub genes were recognized using the cytoHubba. The interaction of the microRNA (miRNA)-hub genes, transcription factor (TF)-hub genes, and drug-hub genes was also evaluated in this study.

After analysis, some genes with the highest degree of connectivity, which were involved in the pathogenesis of HELLP syndrome were identified, and they were known as hub genes. These genes are as follows: IFN-γ, CXCL1, CCL2, CCL3, TLR2, IL-1B, CXCL6, IL-6, CCL4, and CXCL2. has-mir-34a-5p, has-mir-20a-5p, and has-mir-27a-3p as miRNA, as well as RELA as TF had the most interaction with the hub genes.

Finally, IL-6 and CXCL10 that were compared to the other hub genes had the highest interaction with other genes; therefore, their role in Shamgir's pathogenesis is significant. Targeting the cited genes would be a strategy to prevent symptom manifestation and better patient management.