Fig. 5: In silico screening of FDA-approved small molecule using LBP gene expression profile signatures.

a, b Weighted gene correlation network analysis identified expression modules across the microarray datasets represented by 50 different colors. Red indicated strong correlations and blue indicated weak or no correlations in (b). c Four key co-expression modules which were strongly associated with the core signaling network induced by LBP. Heatmap showing the scaled expression of genes (rows) across each sample (vehicle- and LBP-treated dorsal root ganglions) within the four modules. Red indicated up-regulation of genes while green indicated down-regulation of genes. d Every single gene within each module was query in PubMed database using keywords such as neuronal regeneration, axon regeneration and nerve injury. LBP-induced expression of RAGs including Arg1, Sox11 and Tppp3 (in cyan module) and inhibited the expression of growth-inhibitory molecules including Rho, Tnr (in pink module), and Klf4 (in thistle module). e LBP-induced gene expression profile signatures (both up-regulated and down-regulated) were used to query Connectivity Map database, and eight small molecules (ranked by their permutation P-values) with their induced gene expression profiles closely resemble to LBP were identified for subsequent experimental validation based on connectivity and specificity scores.