title: Serum snoRNAs as biomarkers for joint ageing and post traumatic osteoarthritis.
abstract: The development of effective treatments for the age-related disease osteoarthritis and the ability to predict disease progression has been hampered by the lack of biomarkers able to demonstrate the course of the disease. Profiling the expression patterns of small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) in joint ageing and OA may provide diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. This study determined expression patterns of snoRNAs in joint ageing and OA and examined them as potential biomarkers. Using SnoRNASeq and real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) we demonstrate snoRNA expression levels in murine ageing and OA joints and serum for the first time. SnoRNASeq identified differential expression (DE) of 6 snoRNAs in young versus old joints and 5 snoRNAs in old sham versus old experimental osteoarthritic joints. In serum we found differential presence of 27 snoRNAs in young versus old serum and 18 snoRNAs in old sham versus old experimental osteoarthritic serum. Confirmatory qRT-PCR analysis demonstrated good correlation with SnoRNASeq findings. Profiling the expression patterns of snoRNAs is the initial step in determining their functional significance in ageing and osteoarthritis, and provides potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Our results establish snoRNAs as novel markers of musculoskeletal ageing and osteoarthritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Caphri School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mandy M F
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Steinbusch
authors.affiliation: Centre for Genomic Research, Institute of Integrative Biology, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK.
authors.forename: Yongxiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Apex Building, 6 West Derby Street, Liverpool, L7 9TX, UK.
authors.forename: Peter I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Milner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Apex Building, 6 West Derby Street, Liverpool, L7 9TX, UK.
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Clegg
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal Research Group, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Caphri School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Tim J M
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Welting
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Apex Building, 6 West Derby Street, Liverpool, L7 9TX, UK.
authors.forename: Mandy J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Peffers
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D000073888:Cell-Free Nucleic Acids; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006736:Horses; D007596:Joints / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology*; D020537:RNA, Small Nucleolar / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D000073888:Cell-Free Nucleic Acids; D020537:RNA, Small Nucleolar