Graph Theoretical Approach to Determine Rheumatoid Arthritis-Related Protein Biomarkers for Drug Target

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory autoimmune disease. The exact cause and treatment are under investigation. Identification of potential drug targets to treat RA is of great importance as it is painful and damages were irreversible. Many research papers reported that there were several protein markers involved in the disease. On a literature survey, sixty-nine proteins were found to be involved in diseased conditions. These proteins were examined using STRING database and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) has been constructed. This network was analyzed using Cytoscape software for determining the drug targets. Six proteins Interleukins (IL1B, IL6, and IL10), Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF), Glyceraldehyde 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH), Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription 3 (STAT3) were identified as crucial for the network integrity. These six proteins are suggested as drug targets to treat RA.