Machine learning identifies complement factor I as a shared mediator of periodontitis and ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament

Figure 4 Exploration of clinical significance and biological mechanisms of complement factor I. A: Validation of complement factor I (CFI) upregulation in four independent periodontitis datasets; B and C: The analysis results indicate a large pooled effect size, with a Hedges’ g value of 1.61 (95%CI: 0.81-2.42). Heterogeneity tests indicated substantial heterogeneity among the studies (I² = 72.0%, τ² = 0.451). The leave-one-out sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of this pooled result. No significant publication bias was detected by Egger’s linear regression test (P = 0.217); D: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve evaluating the discriminatory capability of CFI for periodontitis; E: Summary ROC (sROC) curve with a composite area under the curve of 0.86; F: CFI-centered multi-level regulatory network showing interactions with miRNAs, transcription factors, lncRNAs, and compounds; G: Human protein atlas validation of CFI protein expression localized primarily in endothelial cells.