Integrative analyses of pyroptosis-related genes associated with intervertebral disc degeneration

doi:10.12307/2024.068

Abstract

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis and treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration is particularly important. Pyroptosis of nucleus pulposus cells plays an important role in the early process of intervertebral disc degeneration, but the role of pyroptosis-related molecules of nucleus pulposus cells in early intervertebral disc degeneration and related molecular markers are still unclear.
OBJECTIVE: To explore the diagnostic and therapeutic value of differentially expressed genes related to pyroptosis during intervertebral disc degeneration.
METHODS: Public datasets of the GEO database were integrated for differential analysis, and intersected with 33 pyroptosis-related genes previously reported. Using Gene Ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, pathway enrichment analysis was performed in genes related to pyroptosis during intervertebral disc degeneration. Enrichment analysis of the intervertebral disc degeneration dataset was conducted using gene set enrichment analysis. To construct the immune cell spectrum in intervertebral disc degeneration samples, the correlation between the differentially expressed pyroptosis-related genes and immune cells was analyzed. Protein interaction networks were built. Screening of the Hub gene to identify key genes associated with intervertebral disc degeneration in protein interaction networks. The receiver operating characteristic curve of the differentially expressed pyroptosis-related genes was plotted, and the area under the curve was calculated. The clinical diagnostic value of target genes was explored. qRT-PCR was applied to verify the difference in the expression of pyroptosis-related genes between normal human nucleus pulposus cells and degenerated human nucleus pulposus cells with intervertebral discs.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) 4 426 differentially expressed genes associated with intervertebral disc degeneration were obtained, and 14 differentially expressed pyroptosis-related genes were obtained after the intersection. (2) Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes revealed important enrichment pathways, mainly related to inflammation, cell cycle, infection and NOD-like receptor pathway. Gene set enrichment analysis showed that pathways such as amino acid metabolism and P53 transcription regulation were significantly enriched in patients with intervertebral disc degeneration. Immune infiltration analysis suggested that the occurrence and development of intervertebral disc degeneration were closely related to immune cells. (3) A total of five Hub genes were screened, namely IL1-β, Caspase-1, AIM2, Caspase-5, and NLRC4. (4) Acquisition and identification of key biomarkers for intervertebral disc degeneration: After intersecting the two datasets of GEO with the pyroptosis-related gene, it was found that NLRP3 had significant expression differences, and the receiver operating characteristic curve showed that NLRP3 had clinical diagnostic significance. (5) qRT-PCR showed that the expression of Hub genes such as IL1-β, Caspase-5 and NLRC4 was significantly increased in the nucleus pulposus cells of intervertebral disc degeneration (P < 0.05), and there was no difference in Caspase-1, AIM2 and NLRP3 expression (P > 0.05). (6) It is suggested that cell pyroptosis plays an important mechanism in the occurrence and development of intervertebral disc degeneration, among which pyroptosis-related molecules NLRP3, IL1-β, Caspase-5 and NLRC4 have early diagnosis and treatment value.

Key words: intervertebral disc, cell pyroptosis, intervertebral disc degeneration, immune infiltration, diagnosis, enrichment analysis

CLC Number:

Xie Yue, Zhai Weifeng, Guo Ji, Jia Yongwei. Integrative analyses of pyroptosis-related genes associated with intervertebral disc degeneration[J]. Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research, 2024, 28(21): 3438-3444.

Figures/Tables 12

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