| Objective To examine the gene expression profile in the blood of patients with osteoporosis and kidney-essence deficiency (OP-KED) based on high-through human genome expression array, and to explore the mechanism of OP-KED and possible treatment target. Methods Sixteen OP-KED patients (8 males and 8 females) aged over 60 years old, and 24 healthy people (12 males and 12 females) of same age were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Longhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Differential gene expression was examined using the Human Gene Expression Array chip. Real-time PCR was used to validate the expression of differentially expressed genes. Results Six hundred and two genes were differentially expressed in OP-KED patients. Among those, 579 genes were up regulated and 23 genes were down regulated (FC≥1.5 or FC≤0.667, q value≤5%). Seven genes, including S100P, SNX3, DEFA1, MMP9, ANXA3, IL1R2, and PLSCR1, were up regulated over 3 times. Three genes, including CX3CR1, SPON2, and GNLY, were down regulated more than 2 times. The expression patterns of the above 10 genes were confirmed by real-time PCR. Conclusion Comparing with that in the healthy elder people of same age, the gene expression pattern in OP-KED patients is different significantly. These genes play important role in the development of OP-KED by regulation of immune response, defense response, and signal transduction of many intracellular proteins. |