Identification of genes associated with the effect of inflammation on the neurotransmission of vascular smooth muscle cell

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) accumulation and hypertrophy are common in vascular disorders, and inflammation has a crucial role in the development of these diseases. To investigate the effect of inflammation on the neurotransmission of VSMC, bioinformatic analysis was performed, following next generation sequencing. Genes of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated A7r5 cells and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-treated A7r5 cells were sequenced via next generation sequencing, and each assay was repeated three times. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained using the NOISeq package in R. Subsequently, their potential functions were predicted by functional and pathway enrichment analyses using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery online tool. Interaction relationships of the proteins enriched in pathways associated with neurological diseases, the proteins which had interaction relationships with adrenoceptor α 1D (ADRA1D) or calcium voltage-gated channel subunit α1 S (CACNA1S), separately, were obtained from STRING, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed using Cytoscape software. A total of 2,038 DEGs, including 1,094 upregulated and 944 downregulated genes in the LPS treatment group were identified when compared with the control group. Enrichment analyses showed that NADH:Ubiquinone Oxidoreductase Core Subunit V2 (NDUFV2) was involved in several neurological diseases, including oxidative phosphorylation, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. Furthermore, NDUFV2 (degree, 20) had a higher degree in the PPI network for DEGs enriched in pathways associated with neurological diseases. In the PPI network for ADRA1D, CACNA1S and the DEGs interacting with them, prohibitin (PHB), oxytocin receptor (OXTR), collapsin response mediator protein 1 (CRMP1) and dihydropyrimidinase like 2 (DPYSL2) had interaction relationships with both ADRA1D and CACNA1S. To conclude, the present study revealed that NDUFV2, PHB, OXTR, CRMP1 and DPYSL2 may have key roles in the effect of inflammation on neurotransmission of VSMC.