COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF MIRNAS AND HETEROGENEOUS GENES ASSOCIATED WITH VITILIGO

Abstract

Vitiligo is a polygenic disorder which results in the progressive loss of functional melanocytes and is characterized by the occurrence of depigmented patches on the skin. A comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms that determine disease susceptibility, its onset, and phenotypic expression remains a challenge since the entire spectrum of this disorder is not yet clearly understood. Emerging evidence over the decades underlines the existing connection between deregulated miRNA function and disease pathogenesis. Unraveling the genetic variants that influence disease development may also provide key insights into the rationale for disease susceptibility. In the present work, we applied a systems biology approach to identify the role of potential miRNAs and susceptible gene variants associated with vitiligo. We further identified the miRNA target genes and constructed a miRNA-target gene network that revealed essential miRNAs that might be fundamentally linked to vitiligo. Our protein-protein interaction (PPI) network in combination with drug-target network highlighted potential protein targets which may be used as novel drug candidates. We also performed functional module and pathway analysis of the vitiligo associated proteins to explore their significance in disease onset. Furthermore, we investigated the pathogenic effect of the plausible single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that could affect protein structure and function and conducted preliminary protein modeling to implicate the role of SNP in disease pathogenesis. Thus, our analysis unveiled significant findings that may drive the way towards better therapeutic interventions for vitiligo management.