differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in cartilage tissues of normal and KOA rats.

In our study, we first employed RNA-sequencing to analyze differentially expressed genes in cartilage tissues of normal and KOA rats. We identified TNN, the gene encoding tenascin-N protein (also known as tenascin-W) , which was significantly differentially up-regulated in the KOA group. To further analyze the downstream target genes of TNN, we performed RNA-sequencing on IL-1β-stimulated KOA chondrocytes (KOA group) and KOA chondrocytes treated with TNN (KOA+TNN group).

本研究首先采用RNA测序（RNA-sequencing）技术，分析正常大鼠与膝骨关节炎（Knee Osteoarthritis，简称KOA）大鼠软骨组织中的差异表达基因（differentially expressed genes）。我们鉴定得到编码腱黏蛋白-N蛋白（tenascin-N protein，又称腱黏蛋白-W）的TNN基因，该基因在KOA组中显著上调表达。为进一步解析TNN的下游靶基因，我们对白细胞介素1β（IL-1β）刺激的KOA软骨细胞（KOA组）以及经TNN处理的KOA软骨细胞（KOA+TNN组）开展了RNA测序（RNA-sequencing）分析。