Anti-TNF Therapy Regulates Phagosome Pathway by Inhibiting NCF4 Expression to Treat Ankylosing Spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is challenging to diagnose in its early stages, and treatment options are limited.

GEO2R analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were used to identify DEGs and key modules. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis and Protein-protein interactions were used to identify core genes. Receiver operating characteristic curve, chi-square and t-test were used to analyze the correlation between gene expression and clinicopathological characteristics. Gene expression was detected using Real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting.

GEO2R analysis and WGCNA identified 1100 DEGs and brown module. The KEGG analysis revealed that 444 core genes were closely associated with specific pathways. PPIs demonstrated that a key module, consisting of 6 genes, was linked to the phagosome pathway. NCF4, identified as an effective biomarker, was selected for diagnosing AS. Bioinformatics analyses indicated that NCF4 could be associated with important clinical markers. RT-PCR and western blotting showed increased expression of NCF4 in AS, which decreased after anti-TNF therapy.

Anti-TNF therapy may exert its therapeutic function by inhibiting NCF4 expression, hence controlling the phagosome pathway. NCF4 has the potential to function as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for AS.