Wang Hantao, Liu Wenhui, Yu Bo, Yu Xiaosheng, Chen Bin
Department of Spine Surgery, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Department of Orthopedics, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Front Genet. 2021 Jan 27;11:596174. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2020.596174. eCollection 2020.
Intervertebral disc degeneration impairs the quality of patients lives. Even though there has been development of many therapeutic strategies, most of them remain unsatisfactory due to the limited understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the intervertebral disc degeneration. This study is meant to identify the key modules and hub genes related to the annulus fibrosus in intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) through: (1) constructing a weighted gene co-expression network; (2) identifying key modules and hub genes; (3) verifying the relationships of key modules and hub genes with IDD; and (4) confirming the expression pattern of hub genes in clinical samples. The Gene Expression Omnibus provided 24 sets of annulus fibrosus microarray data. Differentially expressed genes between the annulus fibrosus of degenerative and non-degenerative intervertebral disc samples have gone through the Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway analysis. The construction of a gene network and classification of genes into different modules were conducted through performing Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis. The identification of modules and hub genes that were most related to intervertebral disc degeneration was proceeded. In order to verify the relationships of the module and hub genes with intervertebral disc degeneration, Ingenuity Pathway Analysis was operated. Clinical samples were adopted to help verify the hub gene expression profile. One thousand one hundred ninety differentially expressed genes were identified. Terms and pathways associated with intervertebral disc degeneration were presented by GO and pathway analysis. The construction of a Weighted Gene Coexpression Network was completed and clustering differentially expressed genes into four modules was also achieved. The module with the lowest -value and the highest absolute correlation coefficient was selected and its relationship with intervertebral disc degeneration was confirmed by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. The identification of hub genes and the confirmation of their expression profile were also realized. This study generated a comprehensive overview of the gene networks underlying annulus fibrosus in intervertebral disc degeneration. Modules and hub genes identified in this study are highly associated with intervertebral disc degeneration, and may serve as potential therapeutic targets for intervertebral disc degeneration.
椎间盘退变会损害患者的生活质量。尽管已经开发出许多治疗策略,但由于对椎间盘退变潜在机制的了解有限,大多数策略仍不尽人意。本研究旨在通过以下方式识别与椎间盘退变(IDD)中纤维环相关的关键模块和枢纽基因:(1)构建加权基因共表达网络;(2)识别关键模块和枢纽基因;(3)验证关键模块和枢纽基因与IDD的关系;(4)确认枢纽基因在临床样本中的表达模式。基因表达综合数据库提供了24组纤维环微阵列数据。对退变和非退变椎间盘样本的纤维环之间的差异表达基因进行了基因本体(GO)和通路分析。通过进行加权基因共表达网络分析来构建基因网络并将基因分类到不同模块。进而识别与椎间盘退变最相关的模块和枢纽基因。为了验证模块和枢纽基因与椎间盘退变的关系,进行了 Ingenuity 通路分析。采用临床样本以帮助验证枢纽基因表达谱。共鉴定出1190个差异表达基因。GO和通路分析展示了与椎间盘退变相关的术语和通路。完成了加权基因共表达网络的构建,并将差异表达基因聚类为四个模块。选择了具有最低 值和最高绝对相关系数的模块,并通过 Ingenuity 通路分析确认了其与椎间盘退变的关系。还实现了枢纽基因的识别及其表达谱的确认。本研究全面概述了椎间盘退变中纤维环的基因网络。本研究中鉴定出的模块和枢纽基因与椎间盘退变高度相关,可能作为椎间盘退变的潜在治疗靶点。