Hearing Impairment in Mucopolysaccharidosis: A Systems Biology Approach

Abstract Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are lysosomal diseases caused by deficiencies in lysosomal enzymes involved in the degradation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Sensorineural hearing impairment is a common feature in MPS patients, but there is no consensus on its etiology. For this reason, we aimed to identify genes and pathways related to hearing loss and to correlate them with gene expression data in MPS. We used HPO and Disgenet to identify candidate genes. We constructed the network with string and Cytoscape, and hub genes were identified in Cytohubba. Expression data were obtained from the MPSBase website. We found the NDUFA gene family as the major hub genes and 114 enriched pathways related to hearing loss. These genes and biological pathways may serve as potential candidates for clinical studies to better understand hearing impairment mechanisms in lysosomal storage diseases like mucopolysaccharidosis.