Expression profile analysis of new candidate genes for the therapy of primary osteoporosis

Primary osteoporosis is a progressive bone disease that is characterized by a decrease in bone mass and density which can lead to an increased risk of fracture. Most of present treatments are effective for osteoporosis, but have limitations and side-effects. With the aging of the world population is increasing, the incidence of osteoporosis is rising. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify new candidate genes used as the therapeutic targets of primary osteoporosis.

In this study, microarray data GSE35958 were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus, then the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by limma package. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed for both up- and down-regulated DEGs using DAVID. In addition, the transcription factor analysis was conducted for DEGs. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed by STRING and Cytoscape. Finally, CFinder was used to analyze the PPI sub-network.

Totally, 327 up-regulated DEGs and 396 down-regulated DEGs were identified. The DEGs such as EGFR and AKT1 were mainly enriched in the pathway of focal adhesion. EGFR was also involved in cell adhesion based on GO enrichment analysis. Functional analysis of DEGs indicated that 26 transcription factors were screened. Moreover, EGFR, AKT1 and transcription factor CTNNB1 were the key nodes with high degrees according to PPI network and sub-network.

The literature suggested that AKT1, EGFR and CTNNB1 were closely related to osteoblastic differentiation and osteoclastogenesis. Some crucial DEGs such as EGFR, AKT1 and CTNNB1 might be connected with primary osteoporosis and could be used as therapeutic targets of osteoporosis.