Identifying Characteristic Genes And Therapeutic Compounds Of Xerostomia And Diabetes

Identify the common characteristic genes between the autoimmune disease primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) and type 1 diabetes (T1D), clarify the common immune-inflammatory mechanism, and screen potential therapeutic compounds. Standardize and perform batch correction on the data of pSS and T1D. Identify biomarkers through differential expression analysis, weighted gene co-expression network analysis, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator analysis. Enrich common pathways using KEGG and GO, and construct the protein-protein interaction network. Receiver operating characteristic curves confirm the predictive accuracy of hub genes in diagnosis. Analyze the composition of immune cells using the CIBERSORT algorithm. Screen small molecule drugs based on hub genes and conduct molecular docking. ELOVL6 and ZBTB16 were identified as biomarkers significantly associated with both diseases. Functional enrichment analysis showed that they were mainly involved in biological pathways such as the innate immune response, mitochondrial gene expression, oxidative phosphorylation, and glutathione metabolism. CIBERSORT analysis revealed that T cells gamma delta had a significantly positive correlation with ELOVL6. Molecular docking demonstrated that the characteristic genes could bind to the potential compound 1-phenylbiguanid to form hydrogen bond interactions. For the first time, this study has revealed the shared hub genes and associated signaling pathways between pSS and T1D. It has illuminated the underlying mechanisms of pSS complicated by T1D from a novel perspective, laying a preliminary theoretical foundation for the clinical diagnosis and combined treatment of this comorbid condition.