‘QuickDASH’ to find Unique Genes and Biological Processes Associated with Shoulder Osteoarthritis: a prospective case-control study

Abstract

Abstract Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease of the synovial joint complex. A limited number of studies have directly investigated transcriptional changes in shoulder OA. Further, gene expression patterns of periarticular tissues in OA have not been thoroughly investigated. This prospective case control series details transcriptomic expression of shoulder OA by analysing periarticular tissues in patients undergoing shoulder replacement for OA as correlated with a validated patient reported outcome measure of worsening shoulder function, a higher (clinically worsening) QuickDASH score. We then compared transcriptomic expression profiles in capsular tissue biopsies from the OA group as compared to patients undergoing shoulder stabilisation for recurrent instability (the control group). Results indicated that top ranked genes associated with increasing QuickDASH score across all tissues involved inflammation and response to stress. These included interleukins, chemokines, complement components, nuclear response factors and immediate early response genes. Some of these genes were upregulated, and some downregulated, suggestive of a state of flux between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory signalling pathways. We have also described gene expression pathways in shoulder OA not previously identified in hip and knee OA, as well as novel genes involved in shoulder OA.