1. Use of a reagent for detecting a biomarker comprising UBE2F in the manufacture of a product useful for the diagnosis of femoral head necrosis.

2. The use of claim 1, wherein the femoral head necrosis comprises non-traumatic femoral head necrosis, preferably non-traumatic femoral head necrosis comprises hormone-type femoral head necrosis, preferably alcohol-type femoral head necrosis, and preferably non-traumatic femoral head necrosis is hormone-type femoral head necrosis.

3. A product for diagnosing femoral head necrosis is characterized by comprising a reagent for detecting UBE2F gene expression level, preferably, the femoral head necrosis comprises non-traumatic femoral head necrosis and traumatic femoral head necrosis, preferably, the femoral head necrosis is non-traumatic femoral head necrosis, preferably, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis comprises hormone-type femoral head necrosis and alcohol-type femoral head necrosis, and preferably, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis is hormone-type femoral head necrosis.

4. The product of claim 3, wherein the reagents comprise reagents for detecting the expression level of UBE2F gene by nucleic acid sequencing technology, nucleic acid hybridization technology, nucleic acid amplification technology, protein immunization technology.

5. The product of claim 3, wherein said agent is selected from the group consisting of:

a probe that specifically recognizes UBE 2F; or

Primers that specifically amplify UBE 2F; or

An antibody that specifically binds to a protein encoded by UBE 2F.

6. The product of claim 3, wherein the product comprises a formulation, a nucleic acid membrane strip, a chip or a kit.

7. The product of claim 6, wherein the kit comprises one or more reagents for detecting the expression level of UBE2F gene; and one or more selected from the group consisting of: container, instructions for use, positive control, negative control, buffer, adjuvant or solvent.

8. A composition comprising an agent that promotes the expression of UBE2F gene, preferably comprising a vector overexpressing UBE2F or a recombinant protein of UBE 2F.

9. The use of the composition of claim 8 for the preparation of a medicament for the treatment of femoral head necrosis, preferably, the femoral head necrosis comprises non-traumatic femoral head necrosis and traumatic femoral head necrosis, preferably, the femoral head necrosis is non-traumatic femoral head necrosis, preferably, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis comprises hormone-type femoral head necrosis and alcohol-type femoral head necrosis, preferably, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis is hormone-type femoral head necrosis.

10. A method for screening a candidate drug for treating femoral head necrosis, the method comprising: 1) contacting a test agent with a culture system expressing UBE 2F; and are

2) Selecting a test agent that promotes the expression level of the UBE2F gene as compared to the expression level detected in the absence of the test agent;

preferably, the femoral head necrosis comprises non-traumatic femoral head necrosis and traumatic femoral head necrosis, preferably, the femoral head necrosis is non-traumatic femoral head necrosis, preferably, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis comprises hormone type femoral head necrosis and alcohol type femoral head necrosis, and preferably, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis is hormone type femoral head necrosis.

Background

Femoral head necrosis (ONFH) is caused by interruption or damage of femoral head blood circulation due to various causes, and induced apoptosis of bone cells and bone marrow components thereof, and subsequent tissue repair, finally changes the structure of the femoral head, even collapse and destruction of hip joints occur, thereby triggering a series of pathophysiological changes and clinical manifestations. ONFH can be classified into traumatic and non-traumatic femoral head necrosis. The former has clear etiology, while the latter mainly comprises long-term heavy hormone use, long-term drinking, blood coagulation dysfunction, autoimmune diseases and the like. Because of the rapid natural progression of ONFH, the ultimate patient requires hip replacement if not diagnosed and treated early, which severely impacts the patient's quality of life.

ONFH progresses faster and is an irreversible pathological process. ONFH develops from pathological changes in the local microenvironment or very minimal necrosis, so it can be concluded that at the earliest stages of the pathological process of ONFH, it first causes changes in certain metabolic markers in the body. The marker has great prospect when being used for ONFH prediction, and is helpful for ONFH high risk group screening and patient early diagnosis. In recent years, research related to ONFH genetic polymorphism provides theoretical basis for screening, ultra-early diagnosis and early intervention of ONFH susceptible people, and has important clinical significance. These genes can be analyzed and studied by peripheral blood and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) -Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) techniques. Through screening and researching related susceptibility genes, the potential ONFH can be found, early diagnosis and preventive treatment can be facilitated, and the pathological changes of the ONFH can be revealed at a molecular level, so that the reason for individual differences of the ONFH in sensitivity to pathogenic factors such as hormones and ethanol is determined. Therefore, the related gene can be used as a potential molecular marker of ONFH. At present, research on ONFH related markers has achieved favorable results, but specific and sensitive markers are few and need to be further studied and discovered.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a biomarker for diagnosing and treating femoral head necrosis.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical scheme:

in a first aspect, the invention provides the use of a reagent for detecting a biomarker comprising UBE2F in the manufacture of a product useful for the diagnosis of femoral head necrosis.

The term "biomarker" refers to a biological molecule present in an individual at different concentrations that can be used to predict the disease state of the individual. Biomarkers can include, but are not limited to, nucleic acids, proteins, and variants and fragments thereof. A biomarker may be DNA comprising all or part of a nucleic acid sequence encoding the biomarker, or the complement of such a sequence. Biomarker nucleic acids useful in the present invention are considered to include DNA and RNA comprising all or part of any nucleic acid sequence of interest.

Whether the level of the biomarker in the biological sample derived from the test subject differs from the level of the biomarker present in a normal subject can be determined by comparing the level of the biomarker in the sample from the test subject to a suitable control. The skilled person can select an appropriate control for the assay in question. For example, a suitable control can be a biological sample derived from a known subject (e.g., a normal subject known to be free of disease). If a suitable control is obtained from a normal subject, a statistically significant difference in the level of the biomarker in the test subject relative to the suitable control indicates that the subject has the disease. In one embodiment, the difference in the level of the biomarker is a decrease. A suitable control may also be a reference standard. The reference standard is used as a reference level for comparison, such that the test sample can be compared to the reference standard to infer the femoral head necrosis status of the subject. The reference standard can represent the level of a biomarker in a known subject (e.g., a subject known to be a normal subject or a subject known to have femoral head necrosis). Likewise, the reference standard can represent the level of one or more biomarkers in a known population of subjects (e.g., a population of subjects known to be normal subjects or a population of subjects known to have femoral head necrosis). For example, a reference standard can be obtained by pooling samples from multiple individuals and determining the levels of biomarkers in the pooled samples, thereby generating a standard in an average population. Such reference standards represent the average level of a biomarker in a population of individuals. For example, a reference standard can also be obtained by averaging the levels of biomarkers determined to be present in individual samples obtained from a plurality of individuals. Such criteria also represent the average level of a biomarker in a population of individuals. The reference standard can also be a collection of values, each value representing the level of a biomarker in a known subject in a population of individuals. In certain embodiments, the test sample can be compared to a set of such values to infer the femoral head necrosis status of the subject. In certain embodiments, the reference standard is an absolute value. In such embodiments, the test sample can be compared to absolute values to infer the femoral head necrosis status of the subject. In one embodiment, the comparison between the levels of one or more biomarkers in the sample relative to a suitable control is performed by executing a software classification algorithm.

In the present invention, UBE2F (gene ID: 140739) includes UBE2F gene and its encoded protein and its homologue, mutation, and isoform. The term encompasses full-length, unprocessed UBE2F, as well as any form of UBE2F that results from processing in a cell. The term encompasses naturally occurring variants (e.g., splice variants or allelic variants) of UBE 2F.

Furthermore, the femoral head necrosis comprises non-traumatic femoral head necrosis and traumatic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the femoral head necrosis is non-traumatic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis comprises hormone type femoral head necrosis and alcoholic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis is hormone type femoral head necrosis.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a product for diagnosing femoral head necrosis, which comprises a reagent for detecting the expression level of UBE2F gene.

Furthermore, the femoral head necrosis comprises non-traumatic femoral head necrosis and traumatic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the femoral head necrosis is non-traumatic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis comprises hormone type femoral head necrosis and alcoholic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis is hormone type femoral head necrosis.

Further, the reagent comprises a reagent for detecting the expression level of UBE2F gene by a nucleic acid sequencing technology, a nucleic acid hybridization technology, a nucleic acid amplification technology and a protein immunization technology.

Illustrative, non-limiting examples of the nucleic acid sequencing methods of the present invention include, but are not limited to, chain terminator (Sanger) sequencing and dye terminator sequencing. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that RNA is typically reverse transcribed into DNA prior to sequencing because it is less stable in cells and more susceptible to nuclease attack in experiments.

Another illustrative, non-limiting example of a nucleic acid sequencing method of the present invention includes next generation sequencing (deep sequencing/high throughput sequencing), a high throughput sequencing technique that is a unimolecular cluster-based sequencing-by-synthesis technique based on proprietary reversible termination chemical reaction principles. Random fragments of genome DNA are attached to an optically transparent glass surface during sequencing, hundreds of millions of clusters are formed on the glass surface after the DNA fragments are extended and subjected to bridge amplification, each cluster is a monomolecular cluster with thousands of identical templates, and then four kinds of special deoxyribonucleotides with fluorescent groups are utilized to sequence the template DNA to be detected by a reversible edge-to-edge synthesis sequencing technology.

Methods of nucleic acid hybridization in the present invention include, but are not limited to, In Situ Hybridization (ISH), microarrays, and Southern or Northern blots. In Situ Hybridization (ISH) is a hybridization of specific DNA or RNA sequences in a tissue section or section using a labeled complementary DNA or RNA strand as a probe (in situ) or in the entire tissue if the tissue is small enough (whole tissue embedded ISH). DNA ISH can be used to determine the structure of chromosomes. RNA ISH is used to measure and locate mRNA and other transcripts (e.g., ncRNA) within tissue sections or whole tissue embedding. Sample cells and tissues are typically treated to fix the target transcript in situ and to increase probe access. The probe is hybridized to the target sequence at high temperature, and then excess probe is washed away. The localization and quantification of base-labeled probes in tissues labeled with radiation, fluorescence or antigens is performed using autoradiography, fluorescence microscopy or immunohistochemistry, respectively. ISH can also use two or more probes labeled with radioactive or other non-radioactive labels to detect two or more transcripts simultaneously.

Southern and Northern blots were used to detect specific DNA or RNA sequences, respectively. DNA or RNA extracted from the sample is fragmented, separated by electrophoresis on a matrix gel, and then transferred to a membrane filter. The filter-bound DNA or RNA is hybridized to a labeled probe complementary to the sequence of interest. Detecting the hybridization probes bound to the filter. A variation of this procedure is a reverse Northern blot, in which the substrate nucleic acid immobilized to the membrane is a collection of isolated DNA fragments and the probe is RNA extracted from the tissue and labeled.

The nucleic acid amplification technique of the present invention is selected from the group consisting of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Transcription Mediated Amplification (TMA), Ligase Chain Reaction (LCR), Strand Displacement Amplification (SDA) and Nucleic Acid Sequence Based Amplification (NASBA). Among them, PCR requires reverse transcription of RNA into DNA before amplification (RT-PCR), TMA and NASBA to directly amplify RNA.

Generally, PCR uses multiple cycles of denaturation, annealing of primer pairs to opposite strands, and primer extension to exponentially increase the copy number of a target nucleic acid sequence; RT-PCR Reverse Transcriptase (RT) is used to prepare complementary DNA (cDNA) from mRNA, and the cDNA is then amplified by PCR to produce multiple copies of the DNA; TMA autocatalytically synthesizes multiple copies of a target nucleic acid sequence under substantially constant conditions of temperature, ionic strength and pH, wherein multiple RNA copies of the target sequence autocatalytically generate additional copies, TMA optionally including the use of blocking, partial, terminating and other modifying moieties to improve the sensitivity and accuracy of the TMA process; LCR with target nucleic acid adjacent region hybridization of two sets of complementary DNA oligonucleotides. The DNA oligonucleotides are covalently linked by DNA ligase in repeated cycles of heat denaturation, hybridization, and ligation to produce a detectable double-stranded ligated oligonucleotide product; the SDA uses multiple cycles of the following steps: primer sequence pairs anneal to opposite strands of the target sequence, primer extension in the presence of dNTP α S to produce double-stranded hemiphosphorothioated (phosphorothioated) primer extension products, endonuclease-mediated nicking of the hemimodified restriction enzyme recognition site, and polymerase-mediated extension from the 3' end of the nick to displace the existing strand and produce a strand for the next round of primer annealing, nicking and strand displacement, thereby causing geometric amplification of the products.

The protein immunization methods of the invention include sandwich immunoassays, such as sandwich ELISA, in which the detection of a biomarker is performed using two antibodies that recognize different epitopes on the biomarker; radioimmunoassay (RIA), direct, indirect or contrast enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA), Fluorescence Immunoassay (FIA), western blot, immunoprecipitation, and any particle-based immunoassay (e.g., using gold, silver or latex particles, magnetic particles, or quantum dots). The immunization can be carried out, for example, in the form of microtiter plates or strips.

Further, the agent is selected from:

a probe that specifically recognizes UBE 2F; or

Primers that specifically amplify UBE 2F; or

An antibody that specifically binds to a protein encoded by UBE 2F.

"primer" refers to an oligonucleotide that hybridizes to a sequence in a target nucleic acid ("primer binding site") and is capable of serving as a point at which synthesis is initiated along a complementary strand of the nucleic acid under conditions suitable for such synthesis.

"Probe" refers to a molecule that binds to a particular sequence or subsequence or other portion of another molecule. Unless otherwise indicated, the term "probe" generally refers to a polynucleotide probe that is capable of binding to another polynucleotide (often referred to as a "target polynucleotide") by complementary base pairing. Depending on the stringency of the hybridization conditions, a probe can bind to a target polynucleotide that lacks complete sequence complementarity to the probe. The probe may be directly or indirectly labeled. Hybridization modalities, including, but not limited to: solution phase, solid phase, mixed phase or in situ hybridization assays.

As used herein, the term "antibody" refers to an immunoglobulin molecule that recognizes and specifically binds a target, such as a protein, polypeptide, peptide, carbohydrate, polynucleotide, lipid, or combination of the foregoing, through at least one antigen binding site. As used herein, the term encompasses intact polyclonal antibodies, intact monoclonal antibodies, single chain antibodies, antibody fragments (such as Fab, Fab ', F (ab')2, and Fv fragments), single chain Fv (scfv) antibodies, multispecific antibodies (such as bispecific antibodies), monospecific antibodies, monovalent antibodies, chimeric antibodies, humanized antibodies, human antibodies, fusion proteins comprising an antigen binding site of an antibody, and any other modified immunoglobulin molecule comprising an antigen binding site, so long as the antibody exhibits the desired biological binding activity. The antibody can be any of the five major classes of immunoglobulins: IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM, or subclasses (isotypes) thereof (e.g., IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA1, and IgA 2). The different classes of immunoglobulins have different and well-known subunit structures and three-dimensional configurations. Antibodies may be naked or conjugated to other molecules, including but not limited to toxins and radioisotopes.

Further, the product comprises a preparation, a nucleic acid membrane strip, a chip or a kit.

Further, the kit comprises one or more reagents for detecting the expression level of UBE2F gene; and one or more selected from the group consisting of: container, instructions for use, positive control, negative control, buffer, adjuvant or solvent.

In a third aspect, the invention provides a composition comprising an agent that promotes the expression of the UBE2F gene.

Further, the agent includes a vector overexpressing UBE2F or a recombinant protein of UBE 2F.

In a fourth aspect, the invention provides the use of a composition according to the third aspect of the invention in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of femoral head necrosis.

Furthermore, the femoral head necrosis comprises non-traumatic femoral head necrosis and traumatic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the femoral head necrosis is non-traumatic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis comprises hormone type femoral head necrosis and alcoholic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis is hormone type femoral head necrosis.

In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a method for screening a candidate drug for treating femoral head necrosis, the method comprising: 1) contacting a test agent with a culture system expressing UBE 2F; and are

2) Selecting a test agent that promotes a level of expression of the UBE2F gene as compared to a level of expression detected in the absence of the test agent.

Furthermore, the femoral head necrosis comprises non-traumatic femoral head necrosis and traumatic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the femoral head necrosis is non-traumatic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis comprises hormone type femoral head necrosis and alcoholic femoral head necrosis.

Further, the non-traumatic femoral head necrosis is hormone type femoral head necrosis.

The invention has the advantages and beneficial effects that:

the invention discovers for the first time that the reagent for detecting the UBE2F gene expression level can be used for diagnosing the femoral head necrosis, and provides a new method for diagnosing the femoral head necrosis.

The invention provides application of a composition in preparing a medicine for treating femoral head necrosis, wherein the composition comprises a reagent for promoting UBE2F gene expression.

The invention also provides a method for screening the candidate medicine for treating the femoral head necrosis.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a graph of the expression of biomarker UBE2F in patients with SONFH;

fig. 2 is a graph of ROC with UBE2F as the sensed variable.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions of the present invention are further illustrated by the following specific examples, which do not represent limitations to the scope of the present invention. Insubstantial modifications and adaptations of the present invention by others of the concepts fall within the scope of the invention.

Example 1 screening of femoral head necrosis differentially expressed Gene

1. Experimental methods

And searching a data set related to femoral head necrosis by using the 'ferromagnetic head necrosis' as a keyword in a GEO database. The inclusion criteria were: the sample amount is more than 6; the sample is blood; and thirdly, the data set has normal contrast. Exclusion criteria were: research on cell lines or animal level; researching a single sample; (iii) repeated or overlapping studies. Finally GSE123568 was included in the study. The data set contained peripheral blood samples from 30 patients with hormonal femoral head necrosis (SONFH) and 10 patients with non-SONFH (after steroid dosing). The original file of ". CLE" is downloaded and standardized by RMA function in the "affy" package. Differential expression analysis was performed using the "limma" package in R software. The screening criteria for differential genes were adj. Pvalue <0.01, | log2FC | > 1.

2. Results of the experiment

There were 370 differentially expressed genes, 174 up-regulated differentially expressed genes, and 196 down-regulated differentially expressed genes in TCGA. The biomarker UBE2F to which the present invention relates is down-regulated in expression in patients with SONFH, as shown in table 1 and figure 1.

TABLE 1 differential expression of UBE2F

Gene	AveExpr	t	P.Value	adj.P.Val
					UBE2F	6.51741526	-9.176723344	0.000000000	0.000000023

Example 2 diagnostic Performance validation

1. Experimental methods

Receiver Operating Curves (ROCs) were plotted using the R package "pROC" (version 1.15.0), AUC values, sensitivity and specificity were analyzed, and the diagnostic efficacy of the markers alone or in combination was judged. When the diagnosis efficiency of the index combination is judged, logistic regression is carried out on the expression level of each gene, the probability of whether each individual is ill or not is calculated through a fitted regression curve, different probability division threshold values are determined, and the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and the like of the combined detection scheme are calculated according to the determined probability division threshold values.

2. Results of the experiment

Referring to table 2 and fig. 2, the results of the experiment show that UBE2F has very good diagnostic efficacy for hormone-type femoral head necrosis.

TABLE 2 diagnostic potency of UBE2F

Gene	AUC	Sensitivity of the composition	Specificity of
				UBE2F	0.977	0.867	1.000

The above description of the embodiments is only intended to illustrate the method of the invention and its core idea. It should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, without departing from the principle of the present invention, several improvements and modifications can be made to the present invention, and these improvements and modifications will also fall into the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.