Visual gene network analysis of aging-specific gene co-expression in human indicates overlaps with immuno-pathological regulations

Abstract

Introduction: Aging is a complex biological process that brings about a gradual decline of physiological and metabolic machineries as a result of maturity. Also, aging is irreversible and leads ultimately to death in biological organisms. Methods: We intend to characterize aging at the gene expression level using publicly available human gene expression arrays obtained from gene expression omnibus (GEO) and ArrayExpress. Candidate genes were identified by rigorous screening using filtered data sets, i.e., GSE11882, GSE47881, and GSE32719. Using Aroma and Limma packages, we selected the top 200 genes showing up and down regulation (p < 0.05 and fold change >2.5) out of which 185 were chosen for further comparative analysis. Results: This investigation enabled identification of candidate genes involved in aging that are associated with several signaling cascades demonstrating strong correlation with ATP binding and protease functions. Conclusion: A majority of these gene encoded proteins function extracellularly, and also provide insights into the immunopathological basis of aging.