809094 Biomarker Identification in Fracture Healing (experiment #4068 performed)

The specific genes that distinguish normal fracture healing from abnormal healing or nonunion in humans are unknown. This study was an exploratory investigation of peripheral blood from acutely injured fracture patients collected over multiple days compared to age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Bone fragments were collected from acutely injured subjects during surgery through the Cooperative Human Tissue Network-Eastern Division (CHTN-ED http://pathology.med.upenn.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/cooperative-human-tissue-network). We used microarrays to do a global comparison between acutely injured (AI) subjects (AIS) and chronic Nonunion (NU) subjects vs. age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers (HV). We also compared tissue types by capturing bone fragments from the fracture site where possible. AIS and NU were enrolled into the study upon presentation for fracture care. Blood was collected into PaxGene blood RNA tubes daily during the inpatient stay. HV were enrolled in parallel with a one-time blood sample collection into PaxGene blood RNA tubes. RNA was extracted from all samples applicable to this experiment. Bone fragments were collected through the CHTN-ED from eligible cases. We explored the data with Partek Genomics Suite using all samples at all time points to identify a panel of genes that is differentially expressed across the two groups to enable additional biomarker vetting.