Exploring Molecular Signatures in Spondyloarthritis: A Step Towards Early Diagnosis

Abstract

Spondyloarthritis is an acute inflammatory disorder of the musculoskeletal system often accompanied by pain, stiffness, bone and tissue damage. It majorly consists of ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and reactive arthritis. It follows a differential diagnosis pattern for demarcation between the spondyloarthritis subtypes and other arthritic subtypes such as rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile arthritis and osteoarthritis due to the heterogeneity causing gradual chronicity and complications. Presence of definite molecular markers can not only improve diagnosis efficiency but also aid in their prognosis and therapy. This study is an attempt to compose a refined list of such unique and common molecular signatures of the considered subtypes, by employing a reductionist approach amalgamating gene retrieval, protein-protein interaction network, functional, pathway, micro-RNA-gene and transcription factor-gene regulatory network analysis. Gene retrieval and protein-protein interaction network analysis resulted in unique and common interacting genes of arthritis subtypes. Functional annotation and pathway analysis found vital functions and pathways unique and common in arthritis subtypes. Furthermore, miRNA-gene and transcription factor-gene interaction networks retrieved unique and common miRNA’s and transcription factors in arthritis subtypes. Furthermore, the study identified important signatures of arthritis subtypes that can serve as markers assisting in prognosis, early diagnosis and personalized treatment of arthritis patients requiring validation via prospective experimental studies.