BACKGROUND: Gene expression analysis is powerful for investigating the 
underlying mechanisms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Previous studies 
mainly neglected co-expression or transcription factor (TF) information. Here we 
integrated TF information into differential co-expression analysis (DCEA) to 
explore new understandings of DMD pathogenesis.
METHODS: Using two microarray datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) 
database, we firstly detected differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and pathways 
enriched with DEGs. Secondly, we constructed differentially regulated networks 
to integrate the TF-to-target information and the differential co-expression 
genes.
RESULTS: A total of 454 DEGs were detected and both KEGG pathway and ingenuity 
pathway analysis revealed that pathways enriched with aberrantly regulated genes 
are mostly involved in the immune response processes. DCEA results generated 610 
pairs of DEGs regulated by at least one common TF, including 78 pairs of 
co-expressed DEGs. A network was constructed to illustrate their relationships 
and a subnetwork for DMD related molecules was constructed to show genes and TFs 
that may play important roles in the secondary changes of DMD. Among the DEGs 
which shared TFs with DMD, six genes were co-expressed with DMD, including 
ATP1A2, C1QB, MYOF, SAT1, TRIP10, and IFI6.
CONCLUSION: Our results may provide a new understanding of DMD and contribute 
potential targets for future therapeutic tests.
VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: 
http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/13000_2014_210.