Screening and identification of key biomarkers in osteoarthritis: evidence from experiment and bioinformatics analysis

Abstract Objective we screened and identified key genes and pathways related to the synovial inflammatory response in KOA to better study the molecular mechanism of action.Methods Two main datasets from a professional comprehensive gene expression database were downloaded; namely, GSE55235 and GSE55457. GEO2R is a tool for analysis of differentially-expressed genes (DEGs) based on the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and we used this to identify DEGs, then performed RNAseq from samples of KOA and normal synovium (Experimental Group, EG). Based on these three datasets, a total of 49 DEGs were identified, consisting of 36 downregulated genes and 13 upregulated genes. GO enrichment analysis and KEGG enrichment analysis of data were performed with the help of Webgestalt and metascape. Cytoscape software was used to import the PPI network, and then the first five percent of genes were tagged as Hub genes.Results Three hub genes–FOSL2, NR4A1, and ATF3–were identified and may be involved in the pathogenesis of KOA.Conclusions This study analyzed DEGs and hub genes in inflamed KOA synovium, which may help us understand the pathogenesis of KOA and provide candidate targets for diagnosis and treatment of OA.