Single cell RNA-seq to delineate the gene expression of RA chondrocytes

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune joint disease, the pathogenesis of which is still unclear. Cartilage damage is one of the main manifestations of the disease. Chondrocytes are the main functional component of articular cartilage, which is relevant to disease progression. Mechanical loading affects the structure and function of articular cartilage and chondrocytes, but the effect of weight bearing on chondrocytes in rheumatoid arthritis is still unclear. In this study, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was performed on collected cartilage from the weight-bearing region and non-weight-bearing region of the femur.

类风湿关节炎（Rheumatoid arthritis, RA）是一种常见的自身免疫性关节疾病，其发病机制至今尚未阐明。软骨损伤是该疾病的主要临床表现之一。软骨细胞是关节软骨的主要功能组成成分，与疾病进展密切相关。机械负荷可影响关节软骨及软骨细胞的结构与功能，但负重状态对类风湿关节炎患者软骨细胞的作用效果仍不明确。本研究对采集自股骨负重区与非负重区的软骨组织开展了单细胞RNA测序（single-cell RNA sequencing, scRNA-seq）。