MGST1 May Regulate the Ferroptosis of the Annulus Fibrosus of Intervertebral Disc: Bioinformatic Integrated Analysis and Validation

Background: The objective of this research was to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to ferroptosis in the annulus fibrosus (AF) during intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Methods: We analyzed gene data from degenerated and normal AF obtained from the GSE70362 and GSE147383 datasets. An analysis to determine the functional significance of the DEGs was conducted, followed by the creation of a network illustrating the interactions between proteins. We further analyzed the immune infiltration of the DEGs and determined the hub DEGs using LASSO regression analysis. Finally, we identified the hub ferroptosis-related DEGs (FRDEGs) and verified their expression levels using Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), Western blot, Immunohistochemical Staining (IHC), and Immunofluorescence (IF). Results: By analyzing the GSE70362 and GSE147383 datasets, we identified 118 DEGs. In degenerative AF groups, we observed a significant increase in immune infiltration of resting memory CD4 T cells. LASSO regression analysis revealed 9 hub DEGs. The construction of a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve yielded an Area Under the Curve (AUC) value of 0.762. Furthermore, we found that MGST1 is a hub gene related to ferroptosis. Our examination of immune infiltration indicated that MGST1 primarily influences macrophage M0 in different immune cell expression groups. Finally, our observations revealed a marked upregulation of MGST1 expression in the degenerated annulus fibrosus tissue. Conclusion: Our findings indicate an upsurge in MGST1 levels within degenerative AF, potentially playing a crucial role in the exacerbation of IDD. These findings provide a foundation for further exploration of the pathological mechanisms underlying IDD and offer potential drug targets for intervention.