Identification of hub genes associated with human osteoarthritis cartilage: An in silico approach

Osteoarthritis is a common orthopedic disease among the greatest causes of morbidity and disability worldwide; however, research on its pathogenesis and diagnostic methods remains limited. The present study focuses on analyzing the microarray dataset to elucidate the hub genes and pathways related to the osteoarthritis. The gene expression data was retrieved from GEO database (GSE169077) and differentially expressed genes were determined using GEO2R tool based on adjusted P-value and log2FC values based on which 27 genes were found to be significant of which 9 genes were up-regulated while 18 genes were down-regulated. This was followed by gene enrichment analysis identify the related Gene Ontology terms and pathways. The Protein-Protein Network is constructed with 15 nodes and 22 edges using STRING database and then exported to Cytoscape 3.8 to predict the hub genes. The hub genes identified are POSTN, COL1A2, COL1A1, BMP1, MXRA5, MMP13 and SERPINF1. The hub genes identified were not only found to be associated with bone related disorders but also few were involved in other diseases. Therefore targeting these genes for disease management could be a viable option in osteoarthritis.