Identification of Key Genes and Pathways Associated With Pathogenesis of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration by Integrated miRNA-mRNA Network Analysis

Abstract

Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is one of the most common cause of low back pain. Previous studies have suggested that miRNAs are associated with the pathogenesis of IDD. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear based on inconsistent results of available literatures. In addition, integrated miRNA-mRNA comprehensive analysis is limited. Material/Methods: In this study, we investigated the profiles of differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMIs) and mRNAs (DEGs) and constructed a miRNA-mRNA regulatory network. First, transcription factors and target genes of DEMIs were predicted. Then, an intersection between DEMIs predicted genes and DEGs were performed to screen out the most significant differential expressed common genes. Results: A total of 65 DEMIs and 61 common target genes were identified from datasets. Functional enrichment analysis showed that most genes were mainly involved in extracellular matrix organization and extracellular structure organization. Furthermore, DEGs were primarily enriched in PI3K−Akt signaling pathway, ECM−receptor interaction, focal adhesion and p53 signaling pathway, indicating that these pathways may be the critical pathways.Conclusions: In summary, several important miRNAs, as well as their related target genes and transcription factors in the pathogenesis of IDD were identified from our bioinformatic analysis, which may provide insights into underlying mechanisms and offer potential target genes for the treatment of IDD.