Unveiling CTGF and APOA1: Key Hub Genes and Therapeutic Targets in Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a life-threatening cardiovascular disease, affects more than 0.04% of the general population. However, the key genes associated with DCM are still unknown. Three publicly available datasets (GSE120895, GSE53081, and GSE42955) were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. 862 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using an integrated bioinformatics approach. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) indicated that DEGs in the blue and turquoise modules exhibited the strongest associations with DCM risk (blue module: r = 0.29, P = 2.5e-4; turquoise module: r = 0.25, P = 1.6e-3). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of the hub genes revealed that the RTK/RAS signalling pathway score was associated with DCM risk. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that the expression of CTGF and APOA1 could sensitively and specifically predict DCM risk (AUC of CTGF = 0.83, P = 0.002; AUC of APOA1 = 0.867, P = 0.001). Furthermore, the expression of CTGF and APOA1 was confirmed by Western blotting. Our results revealed that CTGF and APOA1 are hub genes that may serve as promising therapeutic targets for DCM. Interfering with the RTK/RAS pathway may provide a novel method for the treatment of DCM.