Identification of ankylosing spondylitis-associated genes by expression profiling.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammation attacking the sacroiliac joints and the spine. Certain genes have been associated with the occurrence of AS. Gene chip data were utilized to recognize genes associated with AS for the association of the clinical diagnosis and the biomedical study. Microarray expression data of AS were acquired from the public microarray database GEO (gene expression omnibus), and AS-related genes were obtained by differential gene expression profiling. The transcriptional and translational levels of these genes were further examined. The transcriptional and translational levels of three genes were shown to be upregulated in a mouse model of AS by real-time PCR and Elisa assay, respectively. Differential expression of AS-related genes was identified by analysis of gene chip data, contributing to the advancement of the understanding of the pathogenesis of AS.