Open Access

Construction of an miRNA-regulated drug-pathway network reveals drug repurposing candidates for myasthenia gravis

  • Authors:
    • Yuze Cao
    • Xiaoyan Lu
    • Jianjian Wang
    • Huixue Zhang
    • Zhaojun Liu
    • Si Xu
    • Tianfeng Wang
    • Shangwei Ning
    • Bo Xiao
    • Lihua Wang
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: January 11, 2017     https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2017.2853
  • Pages: 268-278
  • Copyright: © Cao et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a rare debilitating autoimmune neuromuscular disorder. Many studies have focused on the mechanism and treatment strategies of MG. However, the exact pathogenesis of MG and effective treatment strategies remain unclear. Recent studies have indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) can regulate the pathological pathways of MG, suggesting their potential role in novel treatments. In the present study, we created a comprehensive catalog of experimentally confirmed MG risk genes and miRNAs by manually mining published literature and public databases. Based on these genes and miRNAs, we identified 41 MG risk pathways and 105 approved drugs that can affect these pathways. Some important MG-related pathways, such as hsa04060 (cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction) and hsa05200 (pathway in cancer), were found to be regulated by MG risk miRNAs and drugs. Furthermore, we constructed an miRNA-regulated drug-pathway network and identified miRNAs and drugs that synergistically regulate key MG pathways and biological processes. We developed a drug repurposing strategy to identify 25 drug repurposing candidates for MG; several of these drugs, such as rituximab, adalimumab, sunitinib, and muromonab, have the potential to be novel MG treatment drugs. This study provides novel insight into the pathogenesis of MG and potential drug candidates for MG were identified.
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February-2017
Volume 39 Issue 2

Print ISSN: 1107-3756
Online ISSN:1791-244X

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Copy and paste a formatted citation
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Spandidos Publications style
Cao Y, Lu X, Wang J, Zhang H, Liu Z, Xu S, Wang T, Ning S, Xiao B, Wang L, Wang L, et al: Construction of an miRNA-regulated drug-pathway network reveals drug repurposing candidates for myasthenia gravis. Int J Mol Med 39: 268-278, 2017
APA
Cao, Y., Lu, X., Wang, J., Zhang, H., Liu, Z., Xu, S. ... Wang, L. (2017). Construction of an miRNA-regulated drug-pathway network reveals drug repurposing candidates for myasthenia gravis. International Journal of Molecular Medicine, 39, 268-278. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2017.2853
MLA
Cao, Y., Lu, X., Wang, J., Zhang, H., Liu, Z., Xu, S., Wang, T., Ning, S., Xiao, B., Wang, L."Construction of an miRNA-regulated drug-pathway network reveals drug repurposing candidates for myasthenia gravis". International Journal of Molecular Medicine 39.2 (2017): 268-278.
Chicago
Cao, Y., Lu, X., Wang, J., Zhang, H., Liu, Z., Xu, S., Wang, T., Ning, S., Xiao, B., Wang, L."Construction of an miRNA-regulated drug-pathway network reveals drug repurposing candidates for myasthenia gravis". International Journal of Molecular Medicine 39, no. 2 (2017): 268-278. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2017.2853