Yang Xiao, Lu Yang, Zhou Hang, Jiang Hai-Tao, Chu Lei
Department of Orthopaedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023 Mar 16;11:1136777. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1136777. eCollection 2023.
Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent health problem worldwide that affects over 80% of adults during their lifetime. Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a well-recognized leading cause of LBP. IDD is classified into five grades according to the Pfirrmann classification system. The purpose of this study was to identify potential biomarkers in different IDD grades through an integrated analysis of proteome sequencing (PRO-seq), bulk RNA sequencing (bRNA-seq) and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data. Eight cases of grade I-IV IDD were obtained. Grades I and II were considered non-degenerative discs (relatively normal), whereas grades III and IV were considered degenerative discs. PRO-seq analysis was performed to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in various IDD grades. Variation analysis was performed on bRNA-seq data to differentiate expressed genes (DEGs) in normal and degenerated discs. In addition, scRNA-seq was performed to validate DEGs in degenerated and non-degenerated nucleus pulposus (NP). Machine learning (ML) algorithms were used to screen hub genes. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to validate the efficiency of the screened hub genes to predict IDD. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed to analyze function enrichment and signaling pathways. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was used to prioritize disease-related proteins. SERPINA1, ORM2, FGG and COL1A1 were identified through PRO-seq as the hub proteins involved in regulating IDD. ML algorithms selected ten hub genes, including IBSP, COL6A2, MMP2, SERPINA1, ACAN, FBLN7, LAMB2, TTLL7, COL9A3, and THBS4 in bRNA-seq. Since serine protease inhibitor clade A member 1 (SERPINA1) was the only common gene, its accuracy in degenerated and non-degenerated NP cells was validated using scRNA-seq. Then, the rat degeneration model of caudal vertebra was established. The expression of SERPINA1 and ORM2 was detected using immunohistochemical staining of human and rat intervertebral discs. The results showed that SERPINA1 was poorly expressed in the degenerative group. We further explored the potential function of SERPINA1 by Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and cell-cell communication. Therefore, SERPINA1 can be used as a biomarker to regulate or predict the progress of disc degeneration.
腰痛(LBP)是全球普遍存在的健康问题,一生中影响超过80%的成年人。椎间盘退变(IDD)是公认的导致LBP的主要原因。根据Pfirrmann分类系统,IDD分为五个等级。本研究的目的是通过对蛋白质组测序(PRO-seq)、批量RNA测序(bRNA-seq)和单细胞RNA测序(scRNA-seq)数据的综合分析,确定不同IDD等级中的潜在生物标志物。获取了8例I-IV级IDD病例。I级和II级被认为是非退变椎间盘(相对正常),而III级和IV级被认为是退变椎间盘。进行PRO-seq分析以鉴定不同IDD等级中差异表达的蛋白质(DEP)。对bRNA-seq数据进行变异分析,以区分正常和退变椎间盘中表达的基因(DEG)。此外,进行scRNA-seq以验证退变和非退变髓核(NP)中的DEG。使用机器学习(ML)算法筛选枢纽基因。使用受试者工作特征(ROC)曲线验证筛选出的枢纽基因预测IDD的效率。进行基因本体(GO)和京都基因与基因组百科全书(KEGG)分析以分析功能富集和信号通路。蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用(PPI)网络用于对疾病相关蛋白质进行优先级排序。通过PRO-seq鉴定出SERPINA1、ORM2、FGG和COL1A1是参与调节IDD的枢纽蛋白。ML算法在bRNA-seq中选择了10个枢纽基因,包括IBSP、COL6A2、MMP2、SERPINA1、ACAN、FBLN7、LAMB2、TTLL7、COL9A3和THBS4。由于丝氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂A家族成员1(SERPINA1)是唯一的共同基因,使用scRNA-seq验证了其在退变和非退变NP细胞中的准确性。然后,建立大鼠尾椎退变模型。使用人和大鼠椎间盘的免疫组织化学染色检测SERPINA1和ORM2的表达。结果表明,SERPINA1在退变组中表达较低。我们通过基因集富集分析(GSEA)和细胞间通讯进一步探索了SERPINA1的潜在功能。因此,SERPINA1可用作调节或预测椎间盘退变进展的生物标志物。