ABSTRACT
Objective: To explore the key genes and potential therapeutic drugs for osteoarthritis (OA) by bioinformatics.Method: The microarray data GSE55235 was downloaded from the data platform of gene expression omnibus (GEO) and the differentially expressed genes were screened by R language software (3.5.0).Then,the differentially expressed genes were subjected to gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway analysis with David online database.The protein-protein interaction was analyzed by String 10.5 online database and visual editing was analyzed by Cytoscape v3.6.1 software.Subnetwork module analysis was utilized by MCODE plugin to screen the core genes in the process of OA.Finally,small molecule drugs with potential treatment for OA were analyzed by connectivity map (CMap) database.Result: A total of 556 differentially expressed genes were screened,among which 252 were up-regulated and 304 were down-regulated.These genes were mainly involved in extracellular matrix (ECM) organization,inflammatory response,cell adhesion,immune response,collagen binding,etc.The analysis of KEGG pathway showed that differential genes were mainly involved in ECM-receptor interaction,phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase-protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signaling pathway and osteoclast differentiation.Some genes,such as interleukin-6(IL-6),JUN,vascular endothelial growth factor α(VEGFA),FOS,MYC and early growth response gene-1(EGR-1),activating transcription factor-3(ATF-3),playing critical role in the process of OA were identified by protein-protein interaction.Some potential small molecular drugs for the treatment of OA have also been screened,such as lycorine and anisomycin.Conclusion: The selected key genes may be targets for the diagnosis of OA or potential targets for the treatment of OA,and the selected small molecular drugs can be developed as the key drugs for the treatment of OA.