Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39953636›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of medical research2025

Integrated bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing to identify potential biomarkers in intervertebral disc degeneration.

Chunyang Fan, Wei Xu, Xuefeng Li, Jiale Wang, Wei He, Meng Shen, Di Hua, Yao Zhang, Ye Gu, Xiexing Wu and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of medical research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Chunyang Fan *Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, Jiangsu, China.
Wei Xu *Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
Xuefeng Li *Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, Jiangsu, China.
Jiale WangDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, Jiangsu, China.
Wei HeDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, Jiangsu, China.
Meng ShenDepartment of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
Di HuaDepartment of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
Yao ZhangDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, Jiangsu, China.
Ye GuDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, Jiangsu, China. edwinguye@126.com.
Xiexing WuDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, Jiangsu, China. wuxiexing@163.com.
Haiqing MaoDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215006, Jiangsu, China. maohq@suda.edu.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 82272547Special Project of Diagnosis and Treatment Technology for Key Clinical Diseases in Suzhou LCZX202203
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNucleus pulposus (NP) deterioration plays a significant role in the development of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) and low back pain (LBP). This paper aims to identify potential genes within degenerated NP tissue and elucidate the pathogenesis of IVDD through bioinformatics analysis.

methodsWe conducted a transcriptomic analysis of patient's degenerative NP tissue employing advanced bioinformatics techniques and machine learning algorithms. Utilizing hdWGCNA, we successfully acquired WGCNA single-cell sequencing data and pinpointed crucial genes implicated in IVDD. Subsequently, we employed the Monocle3 package to perform pseudotime sequence analysis, enabling the identification of genes associated with the differentiation and developmental processes of NP tissue. Following this, normalized and logarithmically transformed the bulk sequencing data. Subsequently, we conducted preliminary screening using single-factor logistic regression on the genes derived from single-cell sequencing. Next, we applied two machine learning techniques, namely, SVM-RFE and random forest, to discern pivotal pathogenic genes. Finally, we used validation sets to verify trends and qualitativeness and performed in vitro and in vivo validation analyses of normal and degenerative NP tissues.

results909 genes associated with IVDD were identified through hdWGCNA, while pseudotime sequence analysis uncovered 1964 genes related to differentiation and developmental processes. The two had 208 genes in common. Subsequently, we conducted an initial screening of single-cell genes by integrating the bulk database with single logistic regression. Next, we utilized machine learning techniques to identify the IVDD genes CDH, DPH5, and SELENOF. PCR analysis confirmed that the expression of CDH and DPH5 in degraded nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) was decreased by 31% and 28% in vivo, and 36% and 29% in vitro, respectively, while SELENOF showed the opposite trend. Furthermore, IVDD was validated through imaging and histological staining.

conclusionAs pathogenic genes in IVDD, our findings indicate that CTH, DPH5, and SELENOF are important players and might be promising therapeutic targets for IVDD treatment.

Indexed as

Intervertebral Disc DegenerationSequence Analysis, RNASingle-Cell AnalysisAdultBiomarkersComputational BiologyFemaleGene Expression ProfilingHumansMachine LearningMaleMiddle AgedNucleus PulposusBiomarkersBioinformaticsIntervertebral disc degenerationMRNASingle-cell sequencing

Identifiers

PMID39953636
PMCPMC11827443

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.