MicroRNAs: Potential Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets for Alveolar Bone Loss in Periodontal Disease

Abstract

Periodontal disease is an inflammatory disease caused by bacterial infection of tooth-supporting structures, which results in the destruction of alveolar bone. Osteoclasts play a central role in bone destruction. Osteoclasts are tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive multinucleated giant cells derived from hematopoietic stem cells. Recently, we and other researchers revealed that microRNAs are involved in osteoclast differentiation. MicroRNAs are novel, single-stranded, non-coding, small (20–22 nucleotides) RNAs that act in a sequence-specific manner to regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level through cleavage or translational repression of their target mRNAs. They regulate various biological activities such as cellular differentiation, apoptosis, cancer development, and inflammatory responses. In this review, the roles of microRNAs in osteoclast differentiation and function during alveolar bone destruction in periodontal disease are described.

Expression of miR‑146a‑5p in breast cancer and its role in proliferation of breast cancer cells

“…miRNA is a type of non-coding small single stranded RNA containing 20–24 nucleotides involved in gene transcription and expression ( 19 ). miRNA is not encoding protein, but has the ability to direct degrade the target mRNA or inhibit its translation by complete or incomplete complementary combination with the target mRNA ( 20 ). Numerous studies have demonstrated that miRNA is involved in the process of tumor growth, metastasis and angiogenesis by regulating the expression of oncogenesis, migration and other associated genes ( 21 – 23 ).…”

Differential expression of microRNAs let‐7a, miR‐125b, miR‐100, and miR‐21 and interaction with NF‐kB pathway genes in periodontitis pathogenesis

“…Activation of NF-ĸB leads to the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. Recent evidence suggests that micro-RNAs are regulated by NF-ĸB signaling pathways (Kagiya, 2016;Ma, Becker Buscaglia, Barker, & Li, 2011).…”

Salivary exRNA biomarkers to detect gingivitis and monitor disease regression

“…The major advantage of the study was the use of saliva, collected in a prospective way, as a potential non‐invasive diagnostic source for detection and monitoring of gingivitis. Secondly, our study was focused on long RNAs as potential salivary biomarkers of periodontal diseases, including novel finding of lncRNAs, while the current literature reports mostly on short RNAs (microRNAs) with rather unsatisfactory performance (Kagiya, ; Ogata et al., ; Schmalz et al., ). Lastly, the use of DSTA method, that omits the step of RNA extraction, seems to be much more convenient and practical way of performing the experimental stage, as RNA isolation from saliva is not easy to perform and requires diligent protocol.…”