Of note, pivotal genes in both blood and tissue samples were associated with the proportion of CD8 T cells and resting memory CD4 T cells; such concordance suggests that pivotal genes might work in concert to suppress the recruitment of CD8 T cells (LY96, PIK3CD, ZBTB16 in tissue and MSH2 in blood) or promote the resting state of CD4 T cells (PIK3CD, HEBP2, ADAM8 in tissue and MSH2 in blood), thereby shaping the progression of IDD. Here, ZBTB16 is linked to intervertebral disk degenerative disorder.