The analysis of bioinformatics uncovers the interaction genes and immune connection between the fracture and CRPS

Abstract

Abstract Background Patients with fractures are known to have an increased susceptibility to the development of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), yet the precise underlying mechanism of this condition remains inadequately understood. The objective of this study is to identify shared genes between fracture and CRPS and explore their potential molecular mechanisms. Methods The raw data pertaining to facture and CRPS were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. Venn plots were utilized to extract the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that were shared between facture and CRPS. Subsequently, functional enrichment analyses were conducted on these shared genes to identify significant biological functions. The PPI network was employed to visualize the network of the shared genes, and the hub genes were identified using MCODE. The levels of immune infiltration in fracture and CRPS were evaluated using the CIBERSORT algorithm, and the relationship between hub genes and immune cell infiltration was investigated. Additionally, the expression levels of hub genes were examined to explore potential phenotypic subgroups in fractures and CRPS, and the infiltration of immune cells was analyzed across different subcategories. Results A comprehensive analysis revealed the presence of 13 overlapping genes among the DEGs in the fracture and CRPS datasets. The outcomes of functional enrichment analysis suggest that these shared genes primarily participate in immune-related pathways. Furthermore, our investigation identified five hub genes that exhibited up-regulation in both CRPS and fracture patients when compared to healthy individuals. The analysis of immune infiltration revealed an increase in various immune cell populations among patients diagnosed with CRPS and fractures. Furthermore, the hub genes exhibited strong associations with multiple infiltrating immune cells. Based on their shared gene expression profiles, patients with fractures and CRPS were classified into two distinct clusters, namely C1 and C2. Conclusion Our study reveals a close relationship between fracture and CRPS from crosstalk genes, providing clues to further explore the interaction and therapy for fracture and CRPS.