Identification of a Potential Biomarker PDGFRA for Endometriosis Based on Comprehensive Analysis of Multiple Omics Data.

Endometriosis (EMs) is a common chronic inflammatory gynecological disorder. But the exact pathogenetic mechanism of the disease is not clear, with some theories proposing that the disease is caused by the interaction of endocrine, immune, and genetic factors. Based on the GEO databases, we conducted an analysis employing DEGs, WGCNA, and machine learning. Using bulk RNA-seq and scRNA-seq data, we identified PDGFRA as a core gene. We found that PDGFRA was overexpressed in EMs tissues, and its expression increases with advanced stages of the disease. Interestingly, PDGFRA is predominantly expressed in the stromal cells of the endometrium, and the spatial transcriptome analysis revealed PDGFRA overexpression at the center of ectopic lesions regions. And the virtual knockout of PDGFRA affected the mesenchymal cell differentiation, focal adhesion and apoptosis of stromal cells. Additionally, PDGFRA influenced hypoxia, p53 signaling, and various immune cells. Moreover, basic experiments showed that inhibiting PDGFRA expression resulted in suppressed migration and invasion of stromal cells. In summary, PDGFRA emerges as a potential biomarker favoring cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, and anti-apoptotic, suggesting its promise as a therapeutic target in EMs.