Comparative analysis of signaling pathways in peripheral blood from patients with Kashin-Beck disease and osteoarthritis.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the early diagnostic biomarkers of Kashin-Beck disease (KBD), and to compare the common signaling pathways of peripheral mononuclear cells between patients with KBD and those with osteoarthritis (OA). A total of 20 and 12 peripheral blood samples were separately collected from KBD patients and normal control subjects, respectively, in an endemic area according to the diagnosis criteria. Total RNAs were extracted and gene expression levels were determined using an Agilent whole genome expression microarrays. The gene expression data of OA were obtained from GEO published database. Significant different pathways between KBD and OA were analyzed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software. A total of 82 differentially expressed genes, 51 significant different signaling pathways and five significant biological functions were identified in KBD patient samples, while 89, 50 and five significantly different genes, pathways and functions were identified in OA. Nine common significant pathways and five common differentially expressed genes were identified between the KBD and OA. Nine common significant pathways and five common differentially expressed genes were found between the two diseases. The present results suggest that there are similarities in vascular microcirculation, immunoreactions and cell apoptosis between KBD and OA, which may contribute to the early diagnosis and pathogenetic study of KBD.