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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Bone Research
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1469400
The potential key genes within Focal Adhesion that regulate mesenchymal stem cells osteogenesis or adipogenesis in Microgravity related disuse Osteoporosis: An integrated analysis
Provisionally accepted- Laboratory of Skeletal Development and Regeneration, Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
This study aimed to identify key genes related to focal adhesions (FA) and cells involved in osteoblast (OS) and adipocyte (AD) differentiation in osteoporosis. A mouse model of disuse osteoporosis was made by hindlimbs unloading (HLU)/Tail -suspension. Micro -CT and histological analysis were done, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from GSE100930 were analyzed. Soft clustering on GSE80614 OS/AD samples found FA -related candidate genes. protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and cytoHubba's Degree algorithm identified key FA -genes, validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Key OS/AD -associated cells were identified by single -cell analysis. The mouse model showed decreased bone density, microstructure damage, increased marrow adiposity, and altered gene expression. Key FA -related genes for osteogenesis (ITGB3, LAMC1, COL6A3, ITGA8, PDGFRB) and adipogenesis (ITGB3, ITGA4, LAMB1, ITGA8, LAMA4) were found and validated. Key cells (chondrocyte, adipocyte, and osteoblast progenitors) are involved in specific pathways, with osteoblast progenitors having stronger interactions. Pseudotime analysis implies differentiation from chondrocyte progenitors to adipocyte, then osteoblast progenitors. This study provides new insights for disuse osteoporosis research.
Keywords: Osteoporosis, Osteogenesis, Adipogenesis, Focal Adhesions, Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Received: 23 Jul 2024; Accepted: 14 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao and Tu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaolin Tu, Laboratory of Skeletal Development and Regeneration, Key Laboratory of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics (Ministry of Education), College of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
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