Research on Potential Network Markers and Signaling Pathways in Type 2 Diabetes Based on Conditional Cell-Specific Network

Traditional methods concerning type 2 diabetes (T2D) are limited to grouped cells instead of each single cell, and thus the heterogeneity of single cells is erased. Therefore, it is still challenging to study T2D based on a single-cell and network perspective. In this study, we construct a conditional cell-specific network (CCSN) for each single cell for the GSE86469 dataset which is a single-cell transcriptional set from nondiabetic (ND) and T2D human islet samples, and obtain a conditional network degree matrix (CNDM). Since beta cells are the key cells leading to T2D, we search for hub genes in CCSN of beta cells and find that ATP6AP2 is essential for regulation and storage of insulin, and the renin-angiotensin system involving ATP6AP2 is related to most pathological processes leading to diabetic nephropathy. The communication between beta cells and other endocrine cells is performed and three gene pairs with obvious interaction are found. In addition, different expression genes (DEGs) are found based on CNDM and the gene expression matrix (GEM), respectively. Finally, ‘dark’ genes are identified, and enrichment analysis shows that NFATC2 is involved in the VEGF signaling pathway and indirectly affects the production of Prostacyclin (PGI2), which may be a potential biomarker for diabetic nephropathy.