ArticleBMC musculoskeletal disorders2024
Identification of key genes and immune infiltration in osteoarthritis through analysis of zinc metabolism-related genes.
Article in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bioinformatics Analysis of the Diagnostic Value of Copper and Zinc Metabolism-Related Genes in Major Depressive Disorder: An In Silico Multi-Cohort Study.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026Article
- Epigenetic regulation in osteoarthritis: recent updates and emerging mechanisms.Frontiers in genetics · 2026Review
- Article
- Elemental Influence: The Emerging Role of Zinc, Copper, and Selenium in Osteoarthritis.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Mendelian randomization of serum micronutrients and osteoarthritis risk: focus on zinc.Nutrition journal · 2025Article
- Disease-Associated Signatures Persist in Extracellular Vesicles from Reprogrammed Cells of Osteoarthritis Patients.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOsteoarthritis (OA) represents a prominent etiology of considerable pain and disability, and conventional imaging methods lack sensitivity in diagnosing certain types of OA. Therefore, there is a need to identify highly sensitive and efficient biomarkers for OA diagnosis. Zinc ions feature in the pathogenesis of OA. This work aimed to investugate the role of zinc metabolism-related genes (ZMRGs) in OA and the diagnostic characteristics of key genes.
methodsWe obtained datasets GSE169077 and GSE55235 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and obtained ZMRGs from MSigDB. Differential expression analysis was conducted on the GSE169077 dataset using the limma R package to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and the intersection of DEGs and ZMRGs yielded zinc metabolism differential expression-related genes (ZMRGs-DEGs). The clusterProfiler R package was employed for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of ZMRGs-DEGs. Potential small molecule drugs were predicted using the CMap database, and immune cell infiltration and function in OA individuals were analyzed using the ssGSEA method. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed to detect Hub genes among ZMRGs-DEGs. Hub gene expression levels were analyzed in the GSE169077 and GSE55235 datasets, and their diagnostic characteristics were assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The gene-miRNA interaction network of Hub genes was explored using the gene-miRNA interaction network website.
resultsWe identified 842 DEGs in the GSE169077 dataset, and their intersection with ZMRGs resulted in 46 ZMRGs-DEGs. ZMRGs-DEGs were primarily enriched in functions such as collagen catabolic processes, extracellular matrix organization, metallopeptidase activity, and pathways like the IL-17 signaling pathway, Nitrogen metabolism, and Relaxin signaling pathway. Ten potential small-molecule drugs were predicted using the CMap database. OA patients exhibited distinct immune cell abundance and function compared to healthy individuals. We identified 4 Hub genes (MMP2, MMP3, MMP9, MMP13) through the PPI network, which were highly expressed in OA and demonstrated good diagnostic performance. Furthermore, two closely related miRNAs for each of the 4 Hub genes were identified.
conclusion4 Hub genes were identified as potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for OA.
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