COMPLEJIDAD Y CONSTRUCCIÓN DE UNA RED DE GENES ASOCIADOS A PREECLAMPSIA. COMPLEXITY AND CONSTRUCTION OF A NETWORK OF GENES ASSOCIATED PREECLAMPSIA

Purpose of the study: Preeclampsia is a multisystem disorder extensively studied for being the leading cause of maternal mortality in Colombia and the world. Previous research has shown the association of certain genes in this disease, and even found differential methylation patterns in some of these repeated sequences and those around them. The purpose of this study was to quantify the interaction of genes associated data from DNA microarray experiments in preeclamptic placentas. Basic procedures: Using 3.1 Cytoscape program, a network of gene expression was constructed using z score values obtained from a microarray gene expression deposited in the database “Gene Expression Omnibus”. Additionally, the chromatin associated with these genes was characterized in carrying out a chromosome walk 100Kpb windows around each gene, using resources and Genome Browser Database National Center for Biotechnology Information. Main findings: a predominance of Alu, MIR, SINE and LINE sequences were found; however, no significant differences were found when comparing the upstream and downstream regions associated with each gene. The network showed the Ebi3, ENG, PVRL4, TGFB1, INHBA, FSTL3, HTRA1 and KRT19 genes, as highly expressed in preeclamptic placenta. Conclusions: The network ontological categories corroborated the association of these genes with preeclampsia. It can be inferred that differential expression of genes expressed in preeclamptic placenta becomes discriminatory diagnostic criteria of pathology.