LINC00899 Promotes Osteogenic Differentiation and Alleviates Osteoporosis via Targeting miR-374a to Regulate RUNX2

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to illustrate the underlying molecular mechanisms of long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) LINC00899 in osteoporosis.Methods: Real Time-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) used to examine the levels of LINC00899, miR-374a and RUNX2 in clinical tissues or human bone mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs). The interaction between miR-374a and LINC00899 or RUNX2 was predicted by starBase and verified by luciferase reporter assay and RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. Results: The expression of LINC00899 was lowly expressed in osteoporotic patients’ bone tissues and knockdown of LINC00899 decreased the expression of osteogenesis-related genes. Moreover, LINC00899 was confirmed to inhibit miR-374a expression by direct interaction. the expression levels of LINC00899 were gradually increased, but miR-374a expression was decreased with the prolongation of osteogenic induction. Finally, we demonstrated that RUNX2 was a target of miR-374a, and the silencing of miR-374a partially abolished the inhibitory effect of LINC00899 knockdown on the expression of RUNX2, OPN and OCN.Conclusions: We demonstrated that LINC00899 facilitated osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs and prevent osteoporosis by sponging miR-374a and enhancing RUNX2 expression, which might provide a useful therapeutic strategy for osteoporosis patients.