Diagnostic Value of DHX58 - IRF7 Involved in RIG-I-Like Receptor Signaling Pathway in Tuberculosis

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that endangers human health. This study set out to search for key genes and related pathways in dendritic cell (DC) from TB patients to reveal the potential molecular mechanisms and identify potential biomarkers for TB. Method: DC data GSE34151 related to TB was downloaded from GEO data sets for analysis. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained by employing an online tool, GEO2R. PPI network of DEGs and gene module were visualized and calculated applying STRING and Cytoscape, respectively. GO analysis and KEGG pathway were utilized to annotate the functions of DEGs. ROC curve analysis was applied to screen the most diagnostic hub genes associated with TB. Furthermore, their expression was validated in blood data (GSE83456), which were further compared to the T-spot·TB test. Results: : A total of 290 DEGs were screened, which were significantly enriched in Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, and RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathways. Among them, 27 candidate hub genes with the most significant cluster in PPI were enriched in RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway, which has been known to be associated with TB. We further found that the top 10 hub genes(DHX58, ISG20, IRF1, IRF7 and RSAD2, etc) showed high performance for TB diagnosis, among which both DHX58 and IRF7 were enriched in the RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway. Moreover, DHX58 and IRF7 were also increased in blood, which were consistent with that in dendritic cell. Interestingly, DHX58 and IRF7 display higher diagnostic efficacy than T-spot·TB test. Conclusion: In this study, we revealed that both DHX58 and IRF7 with high diagnostic value in blood and dendritic cells, potentially involved in RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway, may serve as a marker for TB diagnosis.