Fig. 4
Identification of CCN2 as a biomarker of knee arthrofibrosis based on fibroblast-macrophage interactions. a The signaling networks in AF and NC. Circle sizes are proportional to the number of cells in each cell group, and edge width represents the interaction probability. b Heatmap of pathway changes between AF and NC. The redder the color block in the figure, the more interaction counts in the AF group. c Heatmap of the relative contribution of fibroblasts and macrophages to a specific signaling pathway network. d Pathway-related gene expression in fibroblasts within the AF group and the NC group. e Bar plot showing GO analysis for PBGs. f Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of top 50 DEGs. Three clusters were identifitied (coloured red, blue and green), and CCN2 were highlighted in a red circle. g Venn diagram of PBGs overlapped with PPI central hub proteins. h Bubble plot of expression of PBGs in all cells involved in the AF and NC groups. PBG, potential biomarker gene. Data are shown as mean ± SD
