OSCR

Integrative analysis identifies Hspa5 as a key regulator of the ERS/UPR-immune axis in spinal cord injury.

Overview

Authors: Guoyuan He1,2, Aichun Yang3, Hechun Xia2,4
  1. School of Clinical Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
  2. Ningxia Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
  3. The First Clinical College, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China
  4. Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China
Journal: Frontiers in genetics, volume 17, article 1833119
Dates: received 18 March 2026; accepted 1 June 2026; published online 19 June 2026
Type: Research article · Language: English
License: CC BY
Identifiers: DOI 10.3389/fgene.2026.1833119 · PMID 42394947 · PMCID PMC13327658 · OpenAlex W7165201161
Open access: gold, a free copy (OpenAlex)
Status: data only
Categories: genetics / omics (modality), other condition (population), cellular / molecular (subfield)
Methods: Statistics, Machine learning, Preprocessing, Connectivity
Keywords: bioinformatics, endoplasmic reticulum stress, HSPA5, spinal cord injury, unfolded protein response
Topic: Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Disease (Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology), according to OpenAlex
Citations: not cited yet (Europe PMC); 55 references in the paper

Abstract

Background: Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and the unfolded protein response (UPR) are critical in secondary spinal cord injury (SCI), but their systematic characterization and link to immune infiltration remain unclear. This study aimed to identify key ERS/UPR-related genes and their association with the immune microenvironment to find robust biomarkers for SCI.

Methods: We analyzed bulk RNA-seq data (GSE151371) to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs), followed by pathway enrichment analyses. Machine learning (SVM-RFE) and protein-protein interaction networks were used to screen for hub genes. The identified hub genes were validated using an independent cohort (GSE5296), single-cell sequencing data (GSE213240), and qRT-PCR in a murine SCI model.

Results: We identified 17 ERS-related and 27 UPR-related DEGs, primarily enriched in neuron death pathways. SCI samples showed elevated ERS/UPR phenotype scores that positively correlated with myeloid cell infiltration. PPI analysis pinpointed Dnajc3 and Hspa5 as central hub genes. However, multi-level validation confirmed that while Hspa5 was consistently and significantly upregulated across all platforms, Dnajc3 did not show significant differential expression in single-cell sequencing and qRT-PCR validation, thereby limiting its credibility as a direct transcriptional biomarker. A diagnostic nomogram incorporating both genes achieved an AUC of 0.745.

Conclusion: ERS/UPR activation is a critical component of the post-SCI transcriptomic response and is closely linked to immune remodeling. Hspa5 emerges as a robust and dominant hub gene, representing a promising therapeutic target for SCI.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Data

Data links

Data availability statement

Publicly available datasets were analyzed in this study. This data can be found here: The datasets (GSE151371, GSE5296, and GSE213240) used in this study are available in the GEO database (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/).

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.

Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, pages, dates, 3 authors, 5 keywords, 55 references.

Cite

This paper

He, G., Yang, A., & Xia, H. (2026). Integrative analysis identifies Hspa5 as a key regulator of the ERS/UPR-immune axis in spinal cord injury. Frontiers in genetics, 17, 1833119. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2026.1833119

BibTeX

@article{he2026integrative,
author = {He, Guoyuan and Yang, Aichun and Xia, Hechun},
title = {{Integrative analysis identifies Hspa5 as a key regulator of the ERS/UPR-immune axis in spinal cord injury}},
journal = {Frontiers in genetics},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
volume = {17},
pages = {1833119},
publisher = {Frontiers Media SA},
issn = {1664-8021},
doi = {10.3389/fgene.2026.1833119},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2026.1833119},
pmid = {42394947},
pmcid = {PMC13327658}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - He, Guoyuan
AU - Yang, Aichun
AU - Xia, Hechun
TI - Integrative analysis identifies Hspa5 as a key regulator of the ERS/UPR-immune axis in spinal cord injury
T2 - Frontiers in genetics
J2 - Front Genet
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/19
VL - 17
SP - 1833119
SN - 1664-8021
PB - Frontiers Media SA
DO - 10.3389/fgene.2026.1833119
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2026.1833119
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

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