MiR-137 targets the inhibition of TCF4 to reverse the progression of osteoarthritis through the AMPK/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Jinyu Wang,Lili Ye,Jianlin Ma,Liming Fang,Xiaoquan Lan,Shiliang Ma,Haoran Huang

doi:10.1042/bsr20200466

Jinyu Wang, Lili Ye + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1042/bsr20200466

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Journal: Bioscience reports	Publication Date: Jun 15, 2020
Citations: 25	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Qingdao University, Qingdao Municipal Hospital

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the regulatory mechanism of miR-137 and transcription factor 4 (TCF4) in the progression of osteoarthritis (OA).Patients and Methods: The expressions of miR-137 and TCF4 were detected in OA cartilage tissue, chondrocytes and OA rat cartilage tissue. miR-137 and TCF4 were up-regulated or down-regulated and transfected into chondrocytes and OA rat cartilage tissue. The gene expression, protein level, cell proliferation, apoptosis and inflammatory factors were detected, respectively. LPS and anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) on the right knee were used to induce chondrocyte inflammation and establish rat OA model, respectively.Results: miR-137 was low expressed in cartilage tissue of OA group, while TCF4 expression and protein level were significantly higher, showing significant negative correlation. In LPS group, chondrocyte activity was significantly inhibited, cell apoptosis ability was significantly enhanced, and the levels of inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 were significantly increased. However, the above results were significantly improved after the up-regulation of miR-137 or down-regulation of TCF4. Double luciferase report revealed that miR-137 and TCF4 had targeted relationship. LPS induced activation of AMPK/NF-κB pathway and higher level of apoptosis. AMPK/NF-κB pathway inhibitor C could inhibit activation of this pathway, and up-regulation of miR-137 or down-regulation of TCF4 could significantly weaken the regulation of LPS on the pathway and apoptosis. Analysis of OA rat model showed that over-expression of miR-137 could inhibit up-regulation of inflammatory factors and activation of AMPK/NF-κB pathway.Conclusion: miR-137 targets the inhibition of TCF4 to reverse the progression of OA through the AMPK/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Highlights

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic progressive joint disease, which will bring negative physical effects such as joint pain, tenderness and movement limitation to patients [1,2]
The results showed that compared with the healthy control group, the expression of miR-137 in OA group was significantly reduced, and the levels of inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 were significantly enhanced, while the above results were effectively alleviated after overexpression of miR-137
We found that under the intervention of LPS, chondrocytes showed the inhibition of cell activity, apoptosis level, and increased levels of inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, while up-regulation of miR-137 or knockdown of transcription factor 4 (TCF4) reversed the above results, suggesting that up-regulation of miR-137 or knock-down of TCF4 contributed to the improvement of the progression of OA

Summary

Introduction

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic progressive joint disease, which will bring negative physical effects such as joint pain, tenderness and movement limitation to patients [1,2]. The key to the treatment of OA is to expand phenotypic applicability, suppress inflammation and degrade joint tissues [7,8]. The current treatment methods for OA include mesenchymal stem cell therapy, nanoparticle therapy and infiltration therapy, the efficacy lacks effectiveness and applicability, so the pathogenesis of OA still needs to be clarified [9,10,11,12].

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