Identification of changes in gene expression profiles induced by acupuncture treatment in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. An in-silico analysis.

Abstract

Introduction. Bone is a tissue that is constantly remodeled to maintain the balance between bone resorption and formation. Alterations in this balance can lead to the development of diseases such as osteoporosis (OP), characterized by fragile bones susceptible to fracture, and osteoarthritis (OA), characterized by joint wear and tear. Recent studies have suggested that OP and OA share common signaling pathways that can serve as therapeutic targets for inhibiting bone and cartilage resorption. In this sense, it has been reported that acupuncture is a treatment that can activate or inhibit genes involved in inflammatory signaling pathways, including those involved in bone metabolism. Objective. Through bioinformatics analysis, we identified changes in gene co-expression pathways post-acupuncture treatment in OP and OA. Methodology. Microarray files in CEL format were obtained by searching various databases, where changes in gene expression were analyzed before and after acupuncture treatment in patients with OA. This set of differentially expressed genes was compared with microarray data from OP patients. The set of genes shared between both conditions was analyzed to identify signaling pathways and their potential acupuncture-induced effects on bone metabolism. Results. The analysis showed 22 down-regulated and 14 up-regulated genes in data from OA patients, while 614 down-regulated and 51 up-regulated genes were observed in OP patients. Each gene set was subjected to signaling pathway analysis, identifying 15 pathways involved in OA and 13 pathways in OP. Eight genes shared between the two conditions were identified as being involved in metabolic pathways related to bone metabolism and are associated with various bone diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, chronic kidney disease, and inflammatory and metabolic disorders such as arteriosclerosis. Conclusion. Our results suggest that acupuncture treatment could stimulate changes in the expression of genes involved in OA/OP signaling pathways. It was observed that both conditions share signaling pathways that can be activated by acupuncture treatment, allowing for the generation of new therapeutic targets, as well as the timely diagnosis and monitoring of various treatments, including acupuncture.