PURPOSE: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is currently the most commonly 
diagnosed form of muscular dystrophy due to mutations in the dystrophin gene. 
However, its pathological process remains unknown and there is a lack of 
specific molecular biomarkers. The aim of our study is to explore key regulatory 
connections underlying the progression of DMD.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The gene expression profile dataset GSE38417 of DMD was 
obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The differentially 
expressed genes (DEGs) between DMD patients and healthy controls were screened 
using geo2R, followed by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene 
Ontology (GO) pathway enrichment analyses. Then a protein-protein interaction 
(PPI) network and sub-network of modules were constructed. To investigate the 
regulatory network underlying DMD, a global triple network including miRNAs, 
mRNAs and transcription factors (TFs) was constructed.
RESULTS: A total of 1811 DEGs were found between the DMD and control groups, 
among which HERC5, SKP2 and FBXW5 were defined as hub genes with a degree of 
connectivity >35 in the PPI network. Furthermore, the five TFs ZNF362, ATAT1, 
SPI1, TCF12 and ABCF2, as well as the eight miRNAs miR-124a, miR-200b/200c/429, 
miR-19a/b, miR-23a/b, miR-182, miR-144, miR-498 and miR-18a/b were identified as 
playing crucial roles in the molecular pathogenesis of DMD.
CONCLUSIONS: This paper provides a comprehensive perspective on the 
miRNA-TF-mRNA co-regulatory network underlying DMD, although the bioinformatic 
findings need further validation in future studies.