Meta-analysis of mRNA dysregulation associated with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by both motor and non-motor symptoms. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of gene expression profiles from four GEO datasets (comprising 59 PD patients and 41 participants control) to identify consistently differentially expressed messenger ribonucleic acids (DEmRNAs). We identified 5,495 down-regulated and 9,850 up-regulated DEmRNAs, of which 64 and 25, respectively, were common across all datasets. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that down-regulated DEmRNAs were primarily enriched in pathways related to neurotransmitter transport, dopamine biosynthesis, and dopaminergic synapse function, while up-regulated DEmRNAs were linked to cell cycle regulation and PI3K-Akt signaling. Notably, dysregulation of key genes, including SNCA (encoding<i>α</i>-synuclein), SLC6A3, TUBB, TUBB3, TUBB4B, and NDUFA9, were associated with PD as well as other neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Prion diseases. These DEmRNAs and pathways may offer potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for PD and related neurological disorders.