Peripheral immune gene expression partially converges toward control profiles after clinical recovery from Guillain-Barré syndrome
TL;DR
Three co-expression modules whose hub genes were associated with immune and inflammatory responses, neuroinflammation, and neuroprotection were identified in GBS and represent exploratory candidates for future biomarker and functional validation.
Abstract
Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is an acute, usually post-infectious, immune-mediated peripheral neuropathy. It is the most common cause of acute flaccid paralysis worldwide, with a mortality rate ranging from 5 to 7%, and recovered GBS may present chronic sequelae. In this study, we analyzed peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) RNA-seq profiles from 12 patients during the acute phase of GBS (T0), follow-up samples from eight clinically recovered patients collected up to 3 years after disease onset (T1), and samples from five healthy controls. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed, and predicted protein–protein interactions (PPI) were generated for each co-expression module. We found 1683 genes differentially expressed in T0 and 63 genes in T1. Module-level GSEA showed marked alterations at T0 and partial convergence of the enrichment profiles toward those observed in controls at T1. Furthermore, we identified three co-expression modules whose hub genes were associated with immune and inflammatory responses, neuroinflammation, and neuroprotection. We also identified previously undescribed GBS-associated hub genes that represent exploratory candidates for future biomarker and functional validation.