Identification and Validation of Pivotal Genes in Osteoarthritis Combined with WGCNA Analysis

Chengzhuo Yang,1,* Xinhua Chen,1,* Jin Liu,1 Wenhao Wang,1 Lihua Sun,2 Youhong Xie,1 Qing Chang1,* 1Department of The Affiliated Rehabilitation Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First A...

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Main Authors: Yang C, Chen X, Liu J, Wang W, Sun L, Xie Y, Chang Q
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Dove Medical Press 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Inflammation Research
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Online Access:https://www.dovepress.com/identification-and-validation-of-pivotal-genes-in-osteoarthritis-combi-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-JIR
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author Yang C
Chen X
Liu J
Wang W
Sun L
Xie Y
Chang Q
author_facet Yang C
Chen X
Liu J
Wang W
Sun L
Xie Y
Chang Q
author_sort Yang C
collection DOAJ
description Chengzhuo Yang,1,* Xinhua Chen,1,* Jin Liu,1 Wenhao Wang,1 Lihua Sun,2 Youhong Xie,1 Qing Chang1,* 1Department of The Affiliated Rehabilitation Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Youhong Xie; Qing Chang, Email 172763320@qq.com; 651733149@qq.comIntroduction: The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA), the most common chronic joint condition, is increasing due to the aging population and escalating obesity rates, leading to a significant impact on human health and well-being. Thus, analyzing the key targets of OA through bioinformatics can help discover new biomarkers to improve its diagnosis.Methods: The microarray and RNA-seq results were screened from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Functional enrichment analyses, protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) of the DEGs were performed. RT-qPCR and WB were further performed to verify the hub gene expression in OA rat.Results: In this study, 35 key genes were identified through differential expression analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) using the GSE169077 and GSE114007 datasets. Enrichment analysis revealed that these key genes were predominantly enriched in the HIF-1 signaling pathway, ECM-receptor interaction, and FoxO signaling pathway. Through the integration of protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, validation in animal models and ROC curve analysis, four pivotal genes (GADD45B, CLDN5, HILPDA and CDKN1B) were finally identified.Conclusion: In conclusion, these identified key genes could serve as novel targets for predicting and treating OA, offering fresh insights into its etiology and pathogenesis.Keywords: osteoarthritis, bioinformatics analysis, WGCNA, GSE data
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spelling doaj-art-059495aa112d4da984886c7b2a1646e72025-02-02T15:59:40ZengDove Medical PressJournal of Inflammation Research1178-70312025-01-01Volume 181459147099774Identification and Validation of Pivotal Genes in Osteoarthritis Combined with WGCNA AnalysisYang CChen XLiu JWang WSun LXie YChang QChengzhuo Yang,1,* Xinhua Chen,1,* Jin Liu,1 Wenhao Wang,1 Lihua Sun,2 Youhong Xie,1 Qing Chang1,* 1Department of The Affiliated Rehabilitation Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Youhong Xie; Qing Chang, Email 172763320@qq.com; 651733149@qq.comIntroduction: The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA), the most common chronic joint condition, is increasing due to the aging population and escalating obesity rates, leading to a significant impact on human health and well-being. Thus, analyzing the key targets of OA through bioinformatics can help discover new biomarkers to improve its diagnosis.Methods: The microarray and RNA-seq results were screened from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Functional enrichment analyses, protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) of the DEGs were performed. RT-qPCR and WB were further performed to verify the hub gene expression in OA rat.Results: In this study, 35 key genes were identified through differential expression analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) using the GSE169077 and GSE114007 datasets. Enrichment analysis revealed that these key genes were predominantly enriched in the HIF-1 signaling pathway, ECM-receptor interaction, and FoxO signaling pathway. Through the integration of protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, validation in animal models and ROC curve analysis, four pivotal genes (GADD45B, CLDN5, HILPDA and CDKN1B) were finally identified.Conclusion: In conclusion, these identified key genes could serve as novel targets for predicting and treating OA, offering fresh insights into its etiology and pathogenesis.Keywords: osteoarthritis, bioinformatics analysis, WGCNA, GSE datahttps://www.dovepress.com/identification-and-validation-of-pivotal-genes-in-osteoarthritis-combi-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-JIRosteoarthritisbioinformatics analysiswgcnagse data
spellingShingle Yang C
Chen X
Liu J
Wang W
Sun L
Xie Y
Chang Q
Identification and Validation of Pivotal Genes in Osteoarthritis Combined with WGCNA Analysis
Journal of Inflammation Research
osteoarthritis
bioinformatics analysis
wgcna
gse data
title Identification and Validation of Pivotal Genes in Osteoarthritis Combined with WGCNA Analysis
title_full Identification and Validation of Pivotal Genes in Osteoarthritis Combined with WGCNA Analysis
title_fullStr Identification and Validation of Pivotal Genes in Osteoarthritis Combined with WGCNA Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Identification and Validation of Pivotal Genes in Osteoarthritis Combined with WGCNA Analysis
title_short Identification and Validation of Pivotal Genes in Osteoarthritis Combined with WGCNA Analysis
title_sort identification and validation of pivotal genes in osteoarthritis combined with wgcna analysis
topic osteoarthritis
bioinformatics analysis
wgcna
gse data
url https://www.dovepress.com/identification-and-validation-of-pivotal-genes-in-osteoarthritis-combi-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-JIR
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