Table 1. Function of the target genes used in the gene expression study.
| Gene | Name | Entrez ID | Major function1 | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat stress factors, proteins and co-chaperones | ||||
| HSF2 | heat shock transcription factor 2 | 421724 | DNA-binding protein; binds heat shock promoter elements (HSE) and activates transcription | 1, 2 |
| HSF4 | heat shock transcription factor 4 | 427540 | DNA-binding protein that specifically binds heat shock promoter elements (HSE) | 1, 2 |
| HSF5 | heat shock transcription factor family member 5 | 417471 | sequence-specific DNA binding and sequence-specific DNA binding transcription factor activity | 1, 2 |
| HSP25 | heat shock protein 25 | 428310 | Involved in stress resistance and actin organization | 1 |
| HSP90AA1 | heat shock protein 90kDa alpha (cytosolic), class A member 1 | 423463 | Hsp90 (90 kDa heat shock protein) is a molecular chaperone that aids protein folding and quality control for a large number of client proteins | 2, 3 |
| HSPA14 | heat shock 70kDa protein 14 | 418802 | Component of the ribosome-associated complex (RAC), a complex involved in folding or maintaining nascent polypeptides in a folding-competent state | 1 |
| HSPA2 | heat shock 70kDa protein 2 | 423504 | In cooperation with other chaperones, Hsp70s stabilize preexistent proteins against aggregation and mediate the folding of newly translated polypeptides in the cytosol as well as within organelles. | 1, 2, 3 |
| HSPB8 | heat shock 22kDa protein 8 | 416988 | Small heat-shock proteins, Displays temperature-dependent chaperone activity | 1, 3 |
| HSPH1 | heat shock 105kDa/110kDa protein 1 | 418917 | Prevents the aggregation of denatured proteins in cells under severe stress, on which the ATP levels decrease markedly. Inhibits HSPA8/HSC70 ATPase and chaperone activities (By similarity) | 4 |
| DNAJA4 | DnaJ (Hsp40) homolog, subfamily A, member 4 | 415360 | Hsp70s co-chaperone, GO annotations related to this gene include unfolded protein binding and heat shock protein binding | 3 |
| DNAJB6 | DnaJ (Hsp40) homolog, subfamily B, member 6 | 420448 | Hsp70s co-chaperone, has a stimulatory effect on the ATPase activity of HSP70; reduces cellular toxicity and caspase-3 activity; suppresses protein aggregation | 1, 3 |
| Apoptosis and stress response genes | ||||
| BAG3 | BCL2-associated athanogene 3 | 423931 | Hsp70s co-chaperone, inhibits the chaperone activity of HSP70/HSC70 by promoting substrate release. Has anti-apoptotic activity | 3, 4 |
| CASP1 | caspase 1, apoptosis-related cysteine peptidase | 395764 | Activator of IL1B, can also promote apoptosis | 5 |
| CASP3 | caspase 3, apoptosis-related cysteine peptidase | 395476 | Effector caspase—involved in the activation cascade of caspases responsible for apoptosis execution | 5 |
| CASP7 | caspase 7, apoptosis-related cysteine peptidase | 423901 | Effector caspase—involved in the activation cascade of caspases responsible for apoptosis execution | 5 |
| CASP8 | caspase 8, apoptosis-related cysteine peptidase | 395284 | Most upstream protease of the activation cascade of caspases responsible for the TNFRSF6/FAS mediated and TNFRSF1A induced cell death | 5 |
| CASP9 | caspase 9, apoptosis-related cysteine peptidase | 426970 | Involved in the activation cascade of caspases responsible for apoptosis execution | 5 |
| CIRBP | cold inducible RNA binding protein | 425789 | Plays a protective role in the genotoxic stress response by stabilizing transcripts of genes involved in cell survival | 3 |
| RB1CC1 | RB1-inducible coiled-coil 1 | 421116 | Interacts with signaling pathways to coordinately regulate cell growth, cell proliferation, apoptosis, autophagy, and cell migration | 4 |
| SERPINH1 | serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade H (heat shock protein 47), member 1, (collagen binding protein 1) | 396228 | Binds specifically to collagen. Could be involved as a chaperone in the biosynthetic pathway of collagen | 1 |
| TP53 | tumor protein p53 | 396200 | Responds to diverse cellular stresses; induces cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, senescence, DNA repair, or changes in metabolism | 5 |
| UBB | ubiquitin B | 396190 | Targets cellular proteins for degradation by the 26S proteosome; involved in the maintenance of chromatin structure, the regulation of gene expression, and the stress response | 6 |
| TLR4 signaling and signal transduction genes | ||||
| IRAK4 | interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 4 | 417796 | Activates NF-kappaB in both the Toll-like receptor (TLR) and T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling pathways | 5 |
| JUN | jun proto-oncogene | 424673 | Transcription factor that recognizes and binds to the enhancer heptamer motif 5-TGACGTCA-3 | 5 |
| MAPK8IP3 | mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 interacting protein 3 | 426986 | JNK-interacting protein (JIP) group of scaffold proteins | 5 |
| MAPK9 | mitogen-activated protein kinase 9 | 395983 | Involved in various processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, transformation and apoptosis | 5 |
| MyD88 | myeloid differentiation primary response 88 | 420420 | cytosolic adapter protein that plays a central role in the innate and adaptive immune response | 5 |
| NLRC5 | NLR family, CARD domain containing 5 | 100857413 | Probable regulator of the NF-kappa-B and type I interferon signaling pathways | 7 |
| SMAD6 | SMAD family member 6 | 374096 | Mediator of TGF-beta and BMP anti-inflammatory activity | 1 |
| TGFB2 | transforming growth factor, beta 2 | 421352 | Regulates proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, migration, and other functions in many cell types | 1 |
| TGFB3 | transforming growth factor, beta 3 | 396438 | Involved in embryogenesis and cell differentiation | 1 |
| TLR4 | toll-like receptor 4 | 417241 | Innate immune response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) | 5 |
| TRAF6 | TNF receptor-associated factor 6, E3 ubiquitin protein ligase | 423163 | Mediates signal transduction from members of the TNF receptor superfamily; leads to the activation of NF-kappa-B and JUN | 5 |
| Immune-related genes | ||||
| CCL4 | chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 4 | 395468 | Monokine with inflammatory and chemokinetic properties | 7 |
| CCL5 | chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5 | 417465 | Chemoattractant for blood monocytes, memory T-helper cells and eosinophils | 7 |
| CD40 | CD40 molecule, TNF receptor superfamily member 5 | 395385 | Transduces TRAF6- and MAP3K8-mediated signals that activate ERK in macrophages and B cells, leading to induction of immunoglobulin secretion | 5 |
| IFNB | interferon, beta 1, fibroblast | 554219 | Has antiviral, antibacterial and anticancer activities | 5 |
| IFNG | interferon, gamma | 396054 | Has antiviral activity and immunoregulatory functions | 5 |
| IL1B | interleukin 1, beta | 395196 | Produced by activated macrophages, inflammatory responses | 5 |
| IL8 | interleukin 8-like 2 | 396495 | Chemotactic factor, inflammatory responses | 5 |
| IL12B | interleukin 12B | 404671 | expressed by activated macrophages that serve as an essential inducer of Th1 cells development | 5 |
| IL18 | interleukin 18 (interferon-gamma-inducing factor) | 395312 | proinflammatory cytokine that augments natural killer cell activity in spleen cells, and stimulates interferon gamma production in T-helper type I cells | 5 |
| iNOS | nitric oxide synthase 2, inducible | 395807 | Produces nitric oxide (NO) which is a messenger molecule with diverse functions throughout the body | 5 |
| LITAF | lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF factor | 374125 | DNA-binding protein that can mediate the TNF-alpha expression | 5 |
| Reference genes | ||||
| H6PD | hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (glucose 1-dehydrogenase) | 428188 | Oxidizes glucose-6-phosphate and glucose, as well as other hexose-6-phosphates | 8 |
| RPL4 | ribosomal protein L4 | 415551 | Belongs to the L4E family of ribosomal proteins | 9 |
Gene function: GeneCards;