Identification of Core Genes and Screening of Potential Targets in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Using Integrated Bioinformatics Analysis

作者：Jianjun Li, Cheng Yu, Songjia Ni, Yang Duan · 发表于：Frontiers in Genetics · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.3389/fgene.2022.864100 · 被引用次数：25 · 研究领域：Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology、Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation、Osteoarthritis Treatment and Mechanisms

Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), characterized by diverse pathological changes, causes low back pain (LBP). However, prophylactic and delaying treatments for IDD are limited. The aim of our study was to investigate the gene network and biomarkers of IDD and suggest potential therapeutic targets. Methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with IDD were identified by analyzing the mRNA, miRNA, and lncRNA expression profiles of IDD cases from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis as well as miRNA–lncRNA–mRNA networks were conducted. Moreover, we obtained 71 hub genes and performed a comprehensive analysis including GO, KEGG, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), gene set variation analysis (GSVA), Disease Ontology (DO), methylation analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, immune infiltration analysis, and potential drug identification. We finally used qRT-PCR to verify 13 significant DEGs in normal and degenerative nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs). Results: We identified 305 DEGs closely related to IDD. The GO and KEGG analyses indicated that changes in IDD are significantly associated with enrichment of the inflammatory and immune response. GSEA analysis suggested that cell activation involved in the inflammatory immune response amide biosynthetic process was the key for the development of IDD. ...