Differential gene expression and immune cell infiltration in patients with steroid-induced necrosis of the femoral head

Abstract

Abstract Objective To study the differential gene expression and immune cell infiltration in patients with steroid-induced necrosis of the femoral head (SANFH), identify the key genes and immune cells of SANFH, and explore the relationship between immune cells and SANFH. Methods The high-throughput gene chip dataset GSE123568 was downloaded from the GEO database, and the differential gene expression was analyzed with the R language. The STRING database and Cytoscape software were used to analyze the protein interaction network and screen key genes, and enrichment analysis was made on key genes. The infiltration of immune cells in SANFH patients was analyzed and verified by immunohistochemistry. Results EP300, TRAF6, STAT1, JAK1, CASP8, and JAK2 are key genes in the pathogenesis of SANFH, which mainly involve in myeloid cell differentiation, cytokine-mediated signaling pathway, tumor necrosis factor-mediated signaling pathway, and cellular response to tumor necrosis factor through JAK-STAT, NOD-like receptor, Toll-like receptor, and other signaling pathways and give occurrence to diseases; immune infiltration and immunohistochemical results show that the expression of memory B cells and activated dendritic cells is reduced in SANFH patients, while in the same SANFH samples, Macrophages M1 was positively correlated with Monocytes, and Neutrophils was negatively correlated with Monocytes expression. Conclusion EP300, TRAF6, STAT1, JAK1, CASP8, and JAK2 can be used as biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of SANFH. Memory B cells, activated dendritic cells, macrophages M1, monocytes, and neutrophils may be involved in the occurrence and development of SANFH, and this may provide support for the basic research of SANFH.