Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that seriously affects the quality of life of elderly. Regrettably, the pathological mechanism for OA has not yet been fully elucidated.

Methods: This study is committed to distinguishing key genes and the underlying mechanisms for OA. Raw data was acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs), hub genes, and key genes through bioinformatics analysis. Subsequently, we predicted the microRNAs (miRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) associated with these key genes that may play key roles in OA using web tools. We also constructed a protein- drug network and found potentially effective drugs by analyzing the relationships between the drugs and the key genes.

Results: The analysis revealed 360 DEGs, 24 hub genes, and 15 key genes enriched in many categories potentially related to the pathological mechanism of OA. hsa-miR-29a-3p, hsa-miR-29b-3p, and hsa-miR-29c-3p were predicted to be important miRNAs for OA, while hsa_circ_0025119, hsa_circ_0025113, hsa_circ_0009897, and hsa_circ_0002447 were predicted to be the most important circRNAs. Further studies indicated that Ocriplasmin and Collagenase clostridium histolyticum may be effective drugs for the treatment of OA. Finally, CD34 and VWF were inferred to be the most meaningful biomarkers for OA.

Conclusion: In conclusion, we determined the underlying key genes, miRNAs, and circRNAs for OA, predicted potentially effective drugs, and identified the most meaningful biomarkers for the disease. Our findings may provide insight into the pathological mechanism of OA and guide future research.

背景：骨关节炎（OA）是一种严重影响老年人生活质量的退行性关节疾病。遗憾的是，OA 的病理机制尚未完全阐明。

方法：本研究致力于区分 OA 的关键基因和潜在机制。原始数据来自基因表达综合 (GEO) 数据库。我们通过生物信息学分析确定了差异表达基因（DEG）、枢纽基因和关键基因。随后，我们使用网络工具预测了与这些可能在 OA 中发挥关键作用的关键基因相关的 microRNA (miRNA) 和环状 RNA (circRNA)。我们还构建了一个蛋白质-药物网络，通过分析药物与关键基因之间的关系，发现了潜在的有效药物。

结果：分析揭示了 360 个 DEG、24 个枢纽基因和 15 个关键基因，这些基因在许多类别中富集，可能与 OA 的病理机制有关。hsa-miR-29a-3p、hsa-miR-29b-3p 和 hsa-miR-29c-3p 被预测为 OA 的重要 miRNA，而 hsa_circ_0025119、hsa_circ_0025113、hsa_circ_0009897 和 hsa_circ_0002447 被预测为最重要的 circRNA . 进一步的研究表明，Ocriplasmin和Collagenase clostridium histolyticum可能是治疗OA的有效药物。最后，CD34 和 VWF 被推断为对 OA 最有意义的生物标志物。

结论：总之，我们确定了 OA 的潜在关键基因、miRNA 和 circRNA，预测了可能有效的药物，并确定了该疾病最有意义的生物标志物。我们的研究结果可能有助于深入了解 OA 的病理机制并指导未来的研究。