Differential gene expression in articular cartilage and subchondral bone of neonatal and adult horses

We report differential expression analysis of RNAseq data in joint-related tissues (articular cartilage and subchondral bone) in healthy foals (4 weeks of age or younger) and healthy adult horses. We find that 1115 genes are differentially expressed in cartilage and 3574 in bone between these two groups. Functional annotation suggests that differences primarily lie in genes involved in growth/turnover of tissue and cell signaling. Six individuals were included in each group (foals and adults). Articular cartilage and subchondral bone were collected in each individual from the metatarsophalangeal joint, tarsocrural joint, and femoropatellar joint, resulting in a total of 56 samples for RNAseq and subsequent analysis.