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Aims

This study examined the relationship between obesity (OB) and osteoporosis (OP), aiming to identify shared genetic markers and molecular mechanisms to facilitate the development of therapies that target both conditions simultaneously.

Methods

Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we analyzed datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to identify co-expressed gene modules in OB and OP. These modules underwent Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment and protein-protein interaction analysis to discover Hub genes. Machine learning refined the gene selection, with further validation using additional datasets. Single-cell analysis emphasized specific cell subpopulations, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), protein blotting, and cellular staining were used to investigate key genes.


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 13, Issue 10 | Pages 559 - 572
8 Oct 2024
Wu W Zhao Z Wang Y Liu M Zhu G Li L

Aims

This study aimed to demonstrate the promoting effect of elastic fixation on fracture, and further explore its mechanism at the gene and protein expression levels.

Methods

A closed tibial fracture model was established using 12 male Japanese white rabbits, and divided into elastic and stiff fixation groups based on different fixation methods. Two weeks after the operation, a radiograph and pathological examination of callus tissue were used to evaluate fracture healing. Then, the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were examined in the callus using proteomics. Finally, in vitro cell experiments were conducted to investigate hub proteins involved in this process.


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 12, Issue 9 | Pages 522 - 535
4 Sep 2023
Zhang G Li L Luo Z Zhang C Wang Y Kang X

Aims

This study aimed, through bioinformatics analysis and in vitro experiment validation, to identify the key extracellular proteins of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD).

Methods

The gene expression profile of GSE23130 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Extracellular protein-differentially expressed genes (EP-DEGs) were screened by protein annotation databases, and we used Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) to analyze the functions and pathways of EP-DEGs. STRING and Cytoscape were used to construct protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and identify hub EP-DEGs. NetworkAnalyst was used to analyze transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate hub EP-DEGs. A search of the Drug Signatures Database (DSigDB) for hub EP-DEGs revealed multiple drug molecules and drug-target interactions.


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 12, Issue 7 | Pages 433 - 446
7 Jul 2023
Guo L Guo H Zhang Y Chen Z Sun J Wu G Wang Y Zhang Y Wei X Li P

Aims

To explore the novel molecular mechanisms of histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) in chondrocytes via RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis.

Methods

Empty adenovirus (EP) and a HDAC4 overexpression adenovirus were transfected into cultured human chondrocytes. The cell survival rate was examined by real-time cell analysis (RTCA) and EdU and flow cytometry assays. Cell biofunction was detected by Western blotting. The expression profiles of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in the EP and HDAC4 transfection groups were assessed using whole-transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq). Volcano plot, Gene Ontology, and pathway analyses were performed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). For verification of the results, the A289E/S246/467/632 A sites of HDAC4 were mutated to enhance the function of HDAC4 by increasing HDAC4 expression in the nucleus. RNA-seq was performed to identify the molecular mechanism of HDAC4 in chondrocytes. Finally, the top ten DEGs associated with ribosomes were verified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) in chondrocytes, and the top gene was verified both in vitro and in vivo.


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 12, Issue 2 | Pages 147 - 154
20 Feb 2023
Jia Y Qi X Ma M Cheng S Cheng B Liang C Guo X Zhang F

Aims

Osteoporosis (OP) is a metabolic bone disease, characterized by a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD). However, the research of regulatory variants has been limited for BMD. In this study, we aimed to explore novel regulatory genetic variants associated with BMD.

Methods

We conducted an integrative analysis of BMD genome-wide association study (GWAS) and regulatory single nucleotide polymorphism (rSNP) annotation information. Firstly, the discovery GWAS dataset and replication GWAS dataset were integrated with rSNP annotation database to obtain BMD associated SNP regulatory elements and SNP regulatory element-target gene (E-G) pairs, respectively. Then, the common genes were further subjected to HumanNet v2 to explore the biological effects.


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 12, Issue 2 | Pages 91 - 102
1 Feb 2023
Li Z Chen M Wang Z Fan Q Lin Z Tao X Wu J Liu Z Lin R Zhao C

Aims

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common chronic immune disease. Berberine, as its main active ingredient, was also contained in a variety of medicinal plants such as Berberaceae, Buttercup, and Rutaceae, which are widely used in digestive system diseases in traditional Chinese medicine with anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. The aims of this article were to explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of berberine on rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods

Cell Counting Kit-8 was used to evaluate the effect of berberine on the proliferation of RA fibroblast-like synoviocyte (RA-FLS) cells. The effect of berberine on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, MMP-3, receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand (RANKL), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and other factors was determined by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) kit. Transcriptome technology was used to screen related pathways and the potential targets after berberine treatment, which were verified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot (WB) technology.


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 12, Issue 1 | Pages 80 - 90
20 Jan 2023
Xu J Si H Zeng Y Wu Y Zhang S Liu Y Li M Shen B

Aims

Degenerative cervical spondylosis (DCS) is a common musculoskeletal disease that encompasses a wide range of progressive degenerative changes and affects all components of the cervical spine. DCS imposes very large social and economic burdens. However, its genetic basis remains elusive.

Methods

Predicted whole-blood and skeletal muscle gene expression and genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from a DCS database were integrated, and functional summary-based imputation (FUSION) software was used on the integrated data. A transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) was conducted using FUSION software to assess the association between predicted gene expression and DCS risk. The TWAS-identified genes were verified via comparison with differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in DCS RNA expression profiles in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) (Accession Number: GSE153761). The Functional Mapping and Annotation (FUMA) tool for genome-wide association studies and Meta tools were used for gene functional enrichment and annotation analysis.


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 11, Issue 12 | Pages 843 - 853
1 Dec 2022
Cai Y Huang C Chen X Chen Y Huang Z Zhang C Zhang W Fang X

Aims

This study aimed to explore the role of small colony variants (SCVs) of Staphylococcus aureus in intraosseous invasion and colonization in patients with periprosthetic joint infection (PJI).

Methods

A PJI diagnosis was made according to the MusculoSkeletal Infection Society (MSIS) for PJI. Bone and tissue samples were collected intraoperatively and the intracellular invasion and intraosseous colonization were detected. Transcriptomics of PJI samples were analyzed and verified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 11, Issue 5 | Pages 304 - 316
17 May 2022
Kim MH Choi LY Chung JY Kim E Yang WM

Aims

The association of auraptene (AUR), a 7-geranyloxycoumarin, on osteoporosis and its potential pathway was predicted by network pharmacology and confirmed in experimental osteoporotic mice.

Methods

The network of AUR was constructed and a potential pathway predicted by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway and Gene Ontology (GO) terms enrichment. Female ovariectomized (OVX) Institute of Cancer Research mice were intraperitoneally injected with 0.01, 0.1, and 1 mM AUR for four weeks. The bone mineral density (BMD) level was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The bone microstructure was determined by histomorphological changes in the femora. In addition, biochemical analysis of the serum and assessment of the messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of osteoclastic markers were performed.


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 11, Issue 2 | Pages 121 - 133
22 Feb 2022
Hsu W Lin S Hung J Chen M Lin C Hsu W Hsu WR

Aims

The decrease in the number of satellite cells (SCs), contributing to myofibre formation and reconstitution, and their proliferative capacity, leads to muscle loss, a condition known as sarcopenia. Resistance training can prevent muscle loss; however, the underlying mechanisms of resistance training effects on SCs are not well understood. We therefore conducted a comprehensive transcriptome analysis of SCs in a mouse model.

Methods

We compared the differentially expressed genes of SCs in young mice (eight weeks old), middle-aged (48-week-old) mice with resistance training intervention (MID+ T), and mice without exercise (MID) using next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics.


Aims

This study aimed to uncover the hub long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) differentially expressed in osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage using an integrated analysis of the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network and co-expression network.

Methods

Expression profiles data of ten OA and ten normal tissues of human knee cartilage were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database (GSE114007). The differentially expressed messenger RNAs (DEmRNAs) and lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) were identified using the edgeR package. We integrated human microRNA (miRNA)-lncRNA/mRNA interactions with DElncRNA/DEmRNA expression profiles to construct a ceRNA network. Likewise, lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles were used to build a co-expression network with the WGCNA package. Potential hub lncRNAs were identified based on an integrated analysis of the ceRNA network and co-expression network. StarBase and Multi Experiment Matrix databases were used to verify the lncRNAs.


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 9, Issue 3 | Pages 130 - 138
1 Mar 2020
Qi X Yu F Wen Y Li P Cheng B Ma M Cheng S Zhang L Liang C Liu L Zhang F

Aims

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent joint disease. However, the specific and definitive genetic mechanisms of OA are still unclear.

Methods

Tissue-related transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) of hip OA and knee OA were performed utilizing the genome-wide association study (GWAS) data of hip OA and knee OA (including 2,396 hospital-diagnosed hip OA patients versus 9,593 controls, and 4,462 hospital-diagnosed knee OA patients versus 17,885 controls) and gene expression reference to skeletal muscle and blood. The OA-associated genes identified by TWAS were further compared with the differentially expressed genes detected by the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression profiles of hip OA and knee OA. Functional enrichment and annotation analysis of identified genes was performed by the DAVID and FUMAGWAS tools.


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 7, Issue 5 | Pages 343 - 350
1 May 2018
He A Ning Y Wen Y Cai Y Xu K Cai Y Han J Liu L Du Y Liang X Li P Fan Q Hao J Wang X Guo X Ma T Zhang F

Aim. Osteoarthritis (OA) is caused by complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Epigenetic mechanisms control the expression of genes and are likely to regulate the OA transcriptome. We performed integrative genomic analyses to define methylation-gene expression relationships in osteoarthritic cartilage. Patients and Methods. Genome-wide DNA methylation profiling of articular cartilage from five patients with OA of the knee and five healthy controls was conducted using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip (Illumina, San Diego, California). Other independent genome-wide mRNA expression profiles of articular cartilage from three patients with OA and three healthy controls were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Integrative pathway enrichment analysis of DNA methylation and mRNA expression profiles was performed using integrated analysis of cross-platform microarray and pathway software. Gene ontology (GO) analysis was conducted using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Results. We identified 1265 differentially methylated genes, of which 145 are associated with significant changes in gene expression, such as DLX5, NCOR2 and AXIN2 (all p-values of both DNA methylation and mRNA expression < 0.05). Pathway enrichment analysis identified 26 OA-associated pathways, such as mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathway (p = 6.25 × 10-4), phosphatidylinositol (PI) signalling system (p = 4.38 × 10-3), hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) signalling pathway (p = 8.63 × 10-3 pantothenate and coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis (p = 0.017), ErbB signalling pathway (p = 0.024), inositol phosphate (IP) metabolism (p = 0.025), and calcium signalling pathway (p = 0.032). Conclusion. We identified a group of genes and biological pathwayswhich were significantly different in both DNA methylation and mRNA expression profiles between patients with OA and controls. These results may provide new clues for clarifying the mechanisms involved in the development of OA. Cite this article: A. He, Y. Ning, Y. Wen, Y. Cai, K. Xu, Y. Cai, J. Han, L. Liu, Y. Du, X. Liang, P. Li, Q. Fan, J. Hao, X. Wang, X. Guo, T. Ma, F. Zhang. Use of integrative epigenetic and mRNA expression analyses to identify significantly changed genes and functional pathways in osteoarthritic cartilage. Bone Joint Res 2018;7:343–350. DOI: 10.1302/2046-3758.75.BJR-2017-0284.R1


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 7, Issue 4 | Pages 298 - 307
1 Apr 2018
Zhang X Bu Y Zhu B Zhao Q Lv Z Li B Liu J

Objectives

The aim of this study was to identify key pathological genes in osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods

We searched and downloaded mRNA expression data from the Gene Expression Omnibus database to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of joint synovial tissues from OA and normal individuals. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were used to assess the function of identified DEGs. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and transcriptional factors (TFs) regulatory network were used to further explore the function of identified DEGs. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was applied to validate the result of bioinformatics analysis. Electronic validation was performed to verify the expression of selected DEGs. The diagnosis value of identified DEGs was accessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.


Bone & Joint Research
Vol. 5, Issue 12 | Pages 594 - 601
1 Dec 2016
Li JJ Wang BQ Fei Q Yang Y Li D

Objectives

In order to screen the altered gene expression profile in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with osteoporosis, we performed an integrated analysis of the online microarray studies of osteoporosis.

Methods

We searched the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database for microarray studies of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with osteoporosis. Subsequently, we integrated gene expression data sets from multiple microarray studies to obtain differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between patients with osteoporosis and normal controls. Gene function analysis was performed to uncover the functions of identified DEGs.