Abstract:
Background Coronaviruses are emerging threats for human health, as
demonstrated by the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that is
caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to SARS-CoV-1, which was the cause of the
2002–2004 SARS outbreak, but SARS-CoV-1 has been the subject of a
relatively limited number of studies. Understanding the potential pathways and
molecular targets of SARS-CoV-1 will contribute to current drug repurposing
strategies by helping to predict potential drug-disease associations.
Methods A microarray dataset, GSE1739, of 10 SARS patients and 4 healthy
controls was downloaded from NCBI’s GEO repository, and differential
expression was identified using NCBI’s GEO2R software. Pathway and
enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed genes was carried out using
Ingenuity Pathway Analysis and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, respectively.
Results Our findings show that the drugs dexamethasone, filgrastim,
interferon alfacon-1, and levodopa were among the most significant upstream
regulators of differential gene expression in SARS patients, while neutrophil
degranulation was the most significantly enriched pathway.
Conclusion An enhanced understanding of the pathways and molecular targets
of SARS-CoV-1 in humans will contribute to current and future drug repurposing
strategies, which are an essential tool to combat rapidly emerging health
threats.