Characterizing gene expression responses to biomechanical strain in an in vitro model of osteoarthritis
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ABSTRACT: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic degenerative disease affecting articular cartilage and underlying bone at the joints. Genetics and biomechanical stress likely interact to contribute to OA risk, potentially by affecting gene regulation. Population-level gene expression studies of cartilage cells experiencing biomechanical stress may uncover gene-by-environment interactions relevant to OA and human joint health. To build a foundation for such studies, we applied differentiation protocols to develop an in vitro system of chondrogenic cell lines (iPSC-chondrocytes). We characterized gene regulatory response of iPSC-chondrocytes of three humans to cyclic tensile strain treatment using bulk and single-cell RNA (scRNA) sequencing. Using the scRNA data, we were able to determine that iPSC-chondrocytes display some patterns of gene expression found in previously published iPSC-derived chondrocytes and in primary chondrocytes. Furthermore, using the scRNA data we determined that that the efficiency of differentiation does not differ substantially between individuals. Using the bulk RNA sequencing data, we measured the contribution of biological and technical factors to gene expression variation in this system. We further identified robust patterns of gene regulation that differ between strain-treated and control iPSC-chondrocytes. We also found several genes that exhibit inter-individual expression differences in response to mechanical strain, including genes previously implicated in OA. We believe that the in vitro iPSC-chondrocyte CTS model shows great promise when applied to gene expression studies of OA.
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE165874 | GEO | 2022/02/07
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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