Identification of the role of ARG1 in the fibrotic process of benign airway stenosis using bioinformatics analysis.

BACKGROUND: Benign airway stenosis (BAS) is a disease characterized by the formation of fibrotic tissue leading to airway stenosis with unclear underlying molecular mechanisms. This study aimed to identify the key genes regulating fibrosis in BAS. METHODS: In this study, the fibrotic mechanism of BAS was explored through combined transcriptomic and proteomic analysis. We collected tracheal samples from day 7 of a mouse model of BAS, as well as from normal control mice. These samples underwent transcriptomic and proteomic sequencing, followed by integrative analysis to identify key genes associated with the condition. Subsequently, we assessed airway fibrosis in the BAS model mice after treatment with an inhibitor targeting the identified gene. RESULTS: The analysis revealed 4,336 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at the transcriptomic level and 1,634 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) at the proteomic level. Through cross-omics integrative analysis, 195 upregulated genes [designated as correlated DEGs and DEPs (cor-DEGs-DEPs)] exhibited significant concordance in expression patterns at both messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels, forming differentially co-expressed gene-protein pairs. Utilizing a combined analysis of transcriptomics and proteomics, we identified the ARG1 gene as a significant factor in this process. Inhibition of ARG1 was shown to alleviate the fibrotic progression associated with BAS. CONCLUSIONS: ARG1 may play a key role in the progression of BAS, which may provide a promising therapeutic strategy for BAS.