• Feng Xu, Feng Gao, Yadong Liu, Zhenyu Wang, Xinming Zhuang, Zhigang Qu, Hui Ma, Yi Liu, Changfeng Fu, Qi Zhang, and Xiaoying Duan.
• Department of Spine Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130021, P.R. China.
• Mol Med Rep. 2016 Mar 1; 13 (3): 2925-31.

AbstractThe present study aimed to explore the molecular mechanisms associated with intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) induced by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α and interleukin (IL)‑1β. The microarray dataset no. GSE42611 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between four experimental nucleus pulposus samples and four control nucleus pulposus samples were analyzed. Subsequently, Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analyses of DEGs were performed, followed by protein‑protein interaction (PPI) network construction and prediction of a regulatory network of transcription factor (TFs). Finally, the transcriptional regulatory network was integrated into the PPI network to analyze the network modules. A total of 246 upregulated and 290 downregulated DEGs were identified. The upregulated DEGs were mainly associated with GO terms linked with inflammatory response and apoptotic pathways, while the downregulated DEGs were mainly associated with GO terms linked with cell adhesion and pathways of extracellular matrix ‑ receptor interaction. In the PPI network, IL6, COL1A1, NFKB1 and HIF1A were hub genes, and in addition, NFKB1 and HIF1A were TFs. Pathways of apoptosis and extracellular matrix ‑ receptor interaction may have important roles in IDD progression. IL6, COL1A1 and the TFs NFKB1 and HIF1A may be used as biomarkers for IDD diagnosis and treatment.

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