AUTHOR=Wang Tao , Li Zhengrui , Zhao Shijian , Liu Ying , Guo Wenliang , Alarcòn Rodrìguez Raquel , Wu Yinteng , Wei Ruqiong 

TITLE=Characterizing hedgehog pathway features in senescence associated osteoarthritis through Integrative multi-omics and machine learning analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2024.1255455

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2024.1255455

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=Purpose: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease of senescence and inflammation. Hedgehog's role in OA mechanisms is unclear. This study combines Bulk RNA-seq and scRNAseq to identify Hedgehog-associated genes in OA, investigating their impact on the pathogenesis of OA. Materials and methods: Download and merge eight bulk-RNA seq datasets from GEO, also obtain a scRNA-seq dataset for validation and analysis. Analyze Hedgehog pathway activity in OA using bulk-RNA seq datasets. Use ten machine learning algorithms to identify important Hedgehog-associated genes, validate predictive models. Perform GSEA to investigate functional implications of identified Hedgehogassociated genes. Assess immune infiltration in OA using Cibersort and MCP-counter algorithms. Utilize ConsensusClusterPlus package to identify Hedgehog-related subgroups. Conduct WGCNA to identify key modules enriched based on Hedgehogrelated subgroups. Characterization of genes by methylation and GWAS analysis. Evaluate Hedgehog pathway activity, expression of hub genes, pseudotime, and cell communication, in OA chondrocytes using scRNA-seq dataset. Validate Hedgehogassociated gene expression levels through Real-time PCR analysis. Results ：The activity of the Hedgehog pathway is significantly enhanced in OA. Additionally, nine important Hedgehog-associated genes have been identified, and the predictive models built using these genes demonstrate strong predictive capabilities. GSEA analysis indicates a significant positive correlation between all seven important Hedgehog-associated genes and lysosomes. Consensus clustering reveals the presence of two hedgehog-related subgroups. In Cluster 1, Hedgehog pathway activity is significantly upregulated and associated with inflammatory pathways. WGCNA identifies that genes in the blue module are most significantly correlated with Cluster 1 and Cluster 2, as well as being involved in extracellular matrix and collagen-related pathways. Single-cell analysis confirms the significant upregulation of the Hedgehog pathway in OA, along with expression changes observed in 5 genes during putative temporal progression. Cell communication analysis suggests an association between low-scoring chondrocytes and macrophages. Conclusion：The Hedgehog pathway is significantly activated in OA and is associated with the extracellular matrix and collagen proteins. It plays a role in regulating immune cells and immune responses.