Comparative genetic investigation of collagen structureabnormalities in patients with degenerative meniscal tearand traumatic meniscal tear

Objective: Meniscal tears are significant orthopedic pathologies that disrupt load distribution in the knee joint, leading to pain and functional limitations. Although traumatic and degenerative meniscal tears may present with similar clinical findings, they arise through distinct molecular mechanisms. This study aimed to identify RNA-Seq– based expression differences within the collagen gene family in meniscal tissues obtained from patients with traumatic and degenerative meniscal tears. Methods: Meniscal samples were collected during arthroscopic surgery from 5 patients with traumatic and 4 patients with degenerative meniscal tears. Total RNA was isolated and subjected to RNA-Seq analysis. Differential gene expression was evaluated using the DESeq2 software package, with an adjusted p-value (p-adj) <0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: Five genes showed significant expression differences between the two groups. COL14A1 (+3.24 Log2FC) and COL21A1 (+2.44 Log2FC) were upregulated in traumatic menisci, whereas COL13A1 (–2.64 Log2FC), COL15A1 (–2.14 Log2FC), and COL5A1-AS1 (–1.94 Log2FC) were downregulated. These results indicate that traumatic meniscal tissue exhibits a more active acute remodeling and reparative response, while degenerative menisci show reduced collagen stability and limited regenerative capacity. Conclusion: Traumatic and degenerative meniscal tears display distinct gene expression profiles, particularly within the collagen gene family. Elevated COL14A1 and COL21A1 expression in traumatic menisci suggests an active extracellular matrix remodeling response to acute tissue injury, while increased COL13A1 and COL15A1 expression in degenerative tissues indicates an inadequate reparative mechanism during chronic degeneration. These results underscore the importance of incorporating molecular-level data into the evaluation of meniscal pathologies. Keywords: Collagen, Degenerative tear, Meniscus, Transcriptome, Traumatic tear