Identification of key biomarkers in steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head and their correlation with immune infiltration by bioinformatics analysis

Exploring the genetic association between immune cells and susceptibility to osteonecrosis using large-scale population data

Objectives

Research shows a close association between aberrant immune reactions in osteonecrotic tissues and immune cell infiltration. However, due to limitations in sample size and dataset comprehensiveness, the causal relationship between them is not fully established. This study aims to determine whether there is a causal relationship using a larger and more diverse dataset.

Methods

We conducted a comprehensive Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal relationship between immune cell characteristics and osteonecrosis. Utilizing publicly available genetic data, we explored the causal relationships between 731 immune cell features and 604 cases from the FinnGen Finnish database, as well as 257 cases from the UK Biobank database with osteonecrosis data. The inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method was used for the primary analysis, and we employed sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of the main results. In addition, considering data from the two databases used in this study, a meta-analysis was conducted on the significant immune cells associated with osteonecrosis (FDR <0.05).

Results

our findings suggested that specific immune cell signatures, such as CD20- % lymphocytes, CD62L-monocytes, and CD33br HLA DR+ CD14-cells were associated with increased odds of osteonecrosis. In contrast, EM CD4+ activated cells and DP (CD4+ CD8+) T cells were associated with decreased odds. Notably, osteonecrosis was associated with a potential decrease in CD45 on immature MDSC cell content.

Conclusion

From a genetic perspective, we demonstrated a close association between immune cells and osteonecrosis. These findings significantly enhance our understanding of the interplay between immune cell infiltration and the risk of osteonecrosis, contributing to the potential design of therapeutic strategies from an immunological standpoint.

Emerging factors affecting peri-implant bone metabolism

Implant dentistry has evolved to the point that standard implant osseointegration is predictable. This is attributed in part to the advancements in material sciences that have led toward improvements in implant surface technology and characteristics. Nonetheless, there remain several cases where implant therapy fails (specifically at early time points), most commonly attributed to factors affecting bone metabolism. Among these patients, smokers are known to have impaired bone metabolism and thus be subject to higher risks of early implant failure and/or late complications related to the stability of the peri-implant bone and mucosal tissues. Notably, however, emerging data have unveiled other critical factors affecting osseointegration, namely, those related to the metabolism of bone tissues. The aim of this review is to shed light on the effects of implant-related factors, like implant surface or titanium particle release; surgical-related factors, like osseodensification or implanted biomaterials; various drugs, like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, proton pump inhibitors, anti-hypertensives, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication, and statins, and host-related factors, like smoking, diet, and metabolic syndrome on bone metabolism, and aseptic peri-implant bone loss. Despite the infectious nature of peri-implant biological complications, these factors must be surveyed for the effective prevention and management of peri-implantitis.

[Role and mechanism of macrophage-mediated osteoimmune in osteonecrosis of the femoral head]

Objective

To summarize the research progress on the role of macrophage-mediated osteoimmune in osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) and its mechanisms.

Methods

Recent studies on the role and mechanism of macrophage-mediated osteoimmune in ONFH at home and abroad were extensively reviewed. The classification and function of macrophages were summarized, the osteoimmune regulation of macrophages on chronic inflammation in ONFH was summarized, and the pathophysiological mechanism of osteonecrosis was expounded from the perspective of osteoimmune, which provided new ideas for the treatment of ONFH.

Results

Macrophages are important immune cells involved in inflammatory response, which can differentiate into classically activated type (M1) and alternatively activated type (M2), and play specific functions to participate in and regulate the physiological and pathological processes of the body. Studies have shown that bone immune imbalance mediated by macrophages can cause local chronic inflammation and lead to the occurrence and development of ONFH. Therefore, regulating macrophage polarization is a potential ONFH treatment strategy. In chronic inflammatory microenvironment, inhibiting macrophage polarization to M1 can promote local inflammatory dissipation and effectively delay the progression of ONFH; regulating macrophage polarization to M2 can build a local osteoimmune microenvironment conducive to bone repair, which is helpful to necrotic tissue regeneration and repair to a certain extent.

Conclusion

At present, it has been confirmed that macrophage-mediated chronic inflammatory immune microenvironment is an important mechanism for the occurrence and development of ONFH. It is necessary to study the subtypes of immune cells in ONFH, the interaction between immune cells and macrophages, and the interaction between various immune cells and macrophages, which is beneficial to the development of potential therapeutic methods for ONFH.

Bioinformatic analysis of related immune cell infiltration and key genes in the progression of osteonecrosis of the femoral head

Objective

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a common orthopedic condition that will prompt joint dysfunction, significantly impacting patients' quality of life. However, the specific pathogenic mechanisms underlying this disease remain elusive. The objective of this study is to examine the differentially expressed messenger RNAs (DE mRNAs) and key genes linked to ONFH, concurrently investigating the immune cell infiltration features in ONFH patients through the application of the CIBERSORT algorithm.

Methods

Microarray was applied to scrutinize mRNA expression profiles in both ONFH patients and healthy controls, with data integration sourced from the GEO database. DE mRNAs were screened using the Limma method. The biological functions of DE mRNAs were explored through the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, Gene Ontology (GO) functional analysis, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). Additionally, support vector machine-recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were employed to discern diagnostic biomarkers associated with the disease. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was utilized to assess the statistical performance of the feature genes. The validation of key genes was performed using qRT-PCR in bone tissues obtained from ONFH patients and healthy controls. Osteogenic differentiation of BMSC was then performed and detected by alkaline phosphatase staining (ALP) and qRT-PCR to verify the correlation between key genes and osteogenic differentiation. Finally, immune cell infiltration analysis was executed to evaluate immune cell dysregulation in ONFH, concurrently exploring the correlation between the infiltration of immune cells and key genes.

Results

After consolidating the datasets, the Limma method revealed 107 DEGs, comprising 76 downregulated and 31 upregulated genes. Enrichment analysis revealed close associations of these DE mRNAs with functions such as cell migration, osteoblast differentiation, cartilage development and extracellular region. Machine learning algorithms further identified APOD, FBXO43 and LRP12 as key genes. ROC curves demonstrated the high diagnostic efficacy of these genes. The results of qRT-PCR showed that the expression levels of key genes were consistent with those of microarray analysis. In addition, the results of in vitro experiments showed that APOD was closely related to osteogenic differentiation of BMSC. Immune infiltration analysis suggested a close correlation between ONFH and imbalances in levels of Neutrophils, Monocytes, Macrophages M2, Dendritic cells activated and Dendritic cells resting.

Conclusion

APOD is closely related to osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs and can be used as a diagnostic marker of ONFH. Immune cell infiltration significantly differs between controls and ONFH patients.

Identification of key ferroptosis-related biomarkers in steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head based on machine learning

BACKGROUND

This study was aimed to identify key ferroptosis-related biomarkers in steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (SONFH) based on machine learning algorithm.

METHODS

The SONFH dataset GSE123568 (including 30 SONFH patients and 10 controls) was used in this study. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were selected between SONFH and control groups, which were subjected to WGCNA. Ferroptosis-related genes were downloaded from FerrDb V2, which were then compared with DEGs and module genes. Two machine learning algorithms were utilized to identify key ferroptosis-related genes, and the underlying mechanisms were analyzed by GSEA. Correlation analysis between key ferroptosis-related genes and immune cells was analyzed by Spearman method. The drug-gene relationships were predicted in CTD.

RESULTS

Total 2030 DEGs were obtained. WGCNA identified two key modules and obtained 1561 module genes. Finally, 43 intersection genes were identified as disease-related ferroptosis-related genes. After LASSO regression and RFE-SVM algorithms, 4 intersection genes (AKT1S1, BACH1, MGST1 and SETD1B) were considered as key ferroptosis-related gene. The 4 genes were correlated with osteoclast differentiation pathway. Twenty immune cells with significant differences were obtained between the groups, and the 4 key ferroptosis-related genes were correlated with most immune cells. In CTD, 41 drug-gene relationship pairs were finally obtained.

CONCLUSIONS

The 4 key ferroptosis-related genes, AKT1S1, BACH1, MGST1 and SETD1B, were identified to play a critical role in SONFH progression through osteoclast differentiation and immunologic mechanisms. Additionally, all the 4 genes had good disease prediction effect and could act as biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of SONFH.

Bioinformatics-Based Analysis of Key Genes in Steroid-Induced Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head That Are Associated with Copper Metabolism

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a common disabling disease. Copper has positive effects on cells that regulate bone metabolism. However, the relationship between copper metabolism (CM) and steroid-induced ONFH (SONFH) remains unclear. The GSE123568 dataset was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus. The differentially expressed CM-related SONFH genes (DE-CMR-SONFHGs) were identified via differential analysis and weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed for the predictive accuracy of key genes. Targeting drugs and the copper death-related genes (CDRGs) relevant to key genes were investigated. The bioinformatics results were confirmed via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) and Western blot (WB) analysis. Two out of 106 DE-CMR-SONFHGs were identified as key genes (PNP and SLC2A1), which had diagnostic value in distinguishing SONFH from control samples and were related to various immune cell infiltrations. Eleven PMP-targeting drugs and five SLC2A1-targeting drugs were identified. The qRT–PCR, as well as WB, results confirmed the downregulation PNP and SLC2A1 and high expression of the CDRGs DLD, PDHB, and MTF1, which are closely related to these two key genes. In conclusion, PNP and SLC2A1 were identified as key genes related to SONFH and may provide insights for SONFH treatment.

Polarization Behavior of Bone Macrophage as Well as Associated Osteoimmunity in Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head

Glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (GIONFH) is a disabling disease with high mortality in China but the detailed molecular and cellular mechanisms remain to be investigated. Macrophages are considered the key cells in osteoimmunology, and the cross-talk between bone macrophages and other cells in the microenvironment is involved in maintaining bone homeostasis. M1 polarized macrophages launch a chronic inflammatory response and secrete a broad spectrum of cytokines (eg, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β) and chemokines to initiate a chronic inflammatory state in GIONFH. M2 macrophage is the alternatively activated anti-inflammatory type distributed mainly in the perivascular area of the necrotic femoral head. In the development of GIONFH, injured bone vascular endothelial cells and necrotic bone activate the TLR4/NF-κB signal pathway, promote dimerization of PKM2 and subsequently enhance the production of HIF-1, inducing metabolic transformation of macrophage to the M1 phenotype. Considering these findings, putative interventions by local chemokine regulation to correct the imbalance between M1/M2 polarized macrophages by switching macrophages to an M2 phenotype, or inhibiting the adoption of an M1 phenotype appear to be plausible regimens for preventing or intervening GIONFH in the early stage. However, these results were mainly obtained by in vitro tissue or experimental animal model. Further studies to completely elucidate the alterations of the M1/M2 macrophage polarization and functions of macrophages in glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head are imperative.

The role of immune cells in modulating chronic inflammation and osteonecrosis

Osteonecrosis occurs when, under continuous stimulation by adverse factors such as glucocorticoids or alcohol, the death of local bone and marrow cells leads to abnormal osteoimmune function. This creates a chronic inflammatory microenvironment, which interferes with bone regeneration and repair. In a variety of bone tissue diseases, innate immune cells and adaptive immune cells interact with bone cells, and their effects on bone metabolic homeostasis have attracted more and more attention, thus developing into a new discipline - osteoimmunology. Immune cells are the most important regulator of inflammation, and osteoimmune disorder may be an important cause of osteonecrosis. Elucidating the chronic inflammatory microenvironment regulated by abnormal osteoimmune may help develop potential treatments for osteonecrosis. This review summarizes the inflammatory regulation of bone immunity in osteonecrosis, explains the pathophysiological mechanism of osteonecrosis from the perspective of osteoimmunology, and provides new ideas for the treatment of osteonecrosis.

Effects of light spectrum on the morphophysiology and gene expression of lateral branching in Pepino (Solanum muricatum)

In the present study, we determined the morphological and physiological indicators of Pepino to elucidate its lateral branching responses to different light qualities using a full-spectrum lamp (F) as the control and eight different light ratios using blue light (B) and red light (R). In addition, correlation analysis revealed that the gene expression patterns correlated with lateral branching under various light treatments. Compared with the F treatment, the R treatment increased the plant height and inhibited the elongation of lateral branches, in contrast with the B treatment. The number of lateral branches did not change significantly under different light quality treatments. Moreover, correlation analysis showed that the ratio of blue light was significantly positively correlated with the length of lateral branches and significantly negatively correlated with plant height, aboveground dry weight, and other indicators. We conducted transcriptome sequencing of the sites of lateral branching at three periods under different light quality treatments. The gene related to photodynamic response, cryptochrome (CRY), was the most highly expressed under B treatment, negatively regulated lateral branch length, and positively correlated with plant height. Branched 1, a lateral branch regulation gene, was upregulated under R treatment and inhibited branching. Overall, the red light facilitated internode elongation, leaf area expansion, plant dry weight increase, and inhibition of lateral branching. Soluble sugar content increased, and the lateral branches elongated under blue light. Different light qualities regulated lateral branching by mediating different pathways involving strigolactones and CRY. Our findings laid a foundation for further clarifying the response mechanism of Pepino seedlings to light and provided a theoretical reference for elucidating the regulation of different light qualities on the lateral branching of Pepino.