We also identified downregulation of several genes previously reported to play protective roles against NEC, including LYSMD2, SIGIRR, NOD2, MBLAC2, TGFBI, TLR7, COX7 A2, IGFBP7, and IL1B. Conversely, a number of genes implicated in NEC pathogenesis in the literature were significantly upregulated in our dataset, such as ADAMTS10, ADAMTSL4, MCOLN2, BCAT1, NFKBIA, IL6RA, IL6ST, GM2 A, IL4R, TGFB1I1, TLR10, TLR1, TLR8, TLR5, TLR4, IL10RBDT, IL18R1, IL18RAP, COX15, IGFBP2, IGF2BP1, IGF2BP3, and COX8 A (Fig. 5). Here, IL4R is linked to necrotizing enterocolitis.