Meta-Data Analysis to Explore the Interaction of the Hub-Genes interlinking SARS-CoV-2 and Cardiovascular Diseases.

Publication date: Sep 23, 2025

The impact of the pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the population has caused many diseases onset, post the recovery. The most common is Cardiac injury, which causes further complications that lead to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This study aimed to analyse the hub genes with a high correlation between SARS-CoV-2 and cardiovascular diseases. The datasets were obtained from the already available GSE196822, GSE196656, and GSE169241 data sets. DESec 2 in R was used for differentially expressed genes, and enriched pathway analysis was performed. Further, Cytoscape used the protein-protein interactions by STRING and hub genes for the common DEGs. The transcriptome analysis of GSE196822 revealed that 7,376 upregulated and 3,673 downregulated genes were the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) among the three selected datasets. Combining the overlap of these data sets for the common genes involved in COVID-19 and CVD, 169 upregulated and 123 downregulated DEGs were observed. These DEGs are further examined with GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes). The KEGG pathway revealed 21 upregulated and 11 downregulated pathways, where the highest count was recorded in transcriptional misregulations in cancer and metabolic pathways, respectively. The top 10 hub genes analysis and PPI network analysis revealed their interlinings for upregulation and downregulations, respectively. The top three upregulated genes (TIMP1, MPO, NFKBIA) and downregulated genes (ACSS1, OXCT1, ADHFE1) identified by differential expression analysis were validated by qRT-PCR, confirming their significant and consistent expression changes under the experimental conditions. The 9 out of 10 hub genes with elevated co-expressibility of linked genes between COVID-19 and CVD showed complications consistent with previous reports. Our findings further suggest that these hub genes may serve dual purposes: as indicators of early viral infection, including COVID-19 and related viral illnesses, and as potential predictors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) onset following COVID-19 infection. This work strongly urges health policymakers to implement screening for COVID-19 complications, especially CVDs, in the general public.

Semantics

Original Article