• Identified three core genes (ADM, SPP1, LAPTM5) as potential therapeutic targets for knee osteoarthritis using SMR and bioinformatics.
• ADM is positively correlated with KOA progression, while SPP1 and LAPTM5 are negatively correlated.
• Celecoxib shows strong binding affinity to the core gene products, suggesting potential for targeted therapy.
• Immune infiltration analysis reveals significant correlations between core genes and immune cells, implicating immune regulation in KOA pathogenesis.