Human T cell lymphotropic virus-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is a pathogen-caused disease which is associated with the progressive neurological disorder. HAM/TSP affects the expression level of several proteins and dysregulates some biological pathways. To identify the interaction patterns among expressed genes in HAM/TSP patients, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was applied. Three microarray datasets regarding HAM/TSP were merged, and the co-expression network was constructed among genes. A total of 38 modules were identified. Three preserved modules in HAM/TSP in comparison to the healthy subjects which also had the most connected proteins and enriched in the biological pathways were selected. These modules were enriched in pathways related to immune systems, cell cycle, viral infection, and neuronal systems. Moreover, the involvement of novel immunological-related proteins including C1QB, GBP5, PSME1, SERPING1, and UBE2C; neurological-related proteins including TUBA4A, TUBB8, and TP63; and also proteins including TRPC6, PRKG2, OPRD1, PRKACA, and TUBB4A involved in the cGMP-PKG signaling pathway, thyroid hormone synthesis, and recruitment of mitotic centrosome proteins and complexes were found. Therefore, tracing these proteins and the identified modules can shed light on the pathogenesis mechanism of HAM/TSP and help to find potential therapeutic targets. However, further experimental validation should be performed to confirm the proposed functional players.

人 T 细胞嗜淋巴细胞病毒 1 相关脊髓病/热带痉挛性截瘫 (HAM/TSP) 是一种与进行性神经系统疾病相关的病原体引起的疾病。 HAM/TSP 影响多种蛋白质的表达水平并失调一些生物途径。为了确定 HAM/TSP 患者表达基因之间的相互作用模式，应用了加权基因共表达网络分析 (WGCNA)。合并关于HAM/TSP的三个微阵列数据集，并构建基因之间的共表达网络。总共确定了 38 个模块。与健康受试者相比，HAM/TSP 中保留了三个模块，这些模块也具有最相关的蛋白质并富含生物途径。这些模块丰富了与免疫系统、细胞周期、病毒感染和神经系统相关的途径。此外，还涉及新型免疫相关蛋白，包括 C1QB、GBP5、PSME1、SERPING1 和 UBE2C；神经相关蛋白，包括 TUBA4A、TUBB8 和 TP63；还发现了参与 cGMP-PKG 信号通路、甲状腺激素合成以及有丝分裂中心体蛋白和复合物募集的蛋白质，包括 TRPC6、PRKG2、OPRD1、PRKACA 和 TUBB4A。因此，追踪这些蛋白质和识别的模块可以揭示HAM/TSP的发病机制，并有助于找到潜在的治疗靶点。然而，应该进行进一步的实验验证以确认所提出的功能播放器。