The Roles of Long Non-coding RNA in Osteoporosis

Abstract

: The human genome project (HGP) announced in 2001 that it had sequenced the entire human genome, yielding nearly complete human DNA. About 98.5 percent of human genome has been found to be non-coding sequences. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a non-coding RNA with a length between 200 and 100,000 nucleotide units. Because of shallow research on lncRNA, it was believed that it had no biological functions, but exists as a by-product of the transcription process. With the development of high-throughput sequencing technology, studies have showed that lncRNA plays important roles in many processes by participating in epigenetics, transcription, translation and protein modification. Current researches have shown lncRNA also takes an important part in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a common disorder of bone metabolism, also a major medical and socioeconomic challenge worldwide. It is characterized by systemic reduction in bone mass and microstructure changes, which increases the risk of brittle fractures. It is more common to postmenopausal women and elderly men. However, the roles of lncRNA and relevant mechanisms in osteoporosis remain unclear. Based on this background, we hereby review the roles of lncRNA in osteoporosis, and how it influence the functions of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, which provides reference to clinical diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of osteoporosis

The Roles of Epigenetics Regulation in Bone Metabolism and Osteoporosis

“…Non-coding RNA is a type of RNA that is transcribed from the genome but does not encode a protein (Yang et al, 2020). According to the length of RNA, it non-coding RNA is divided into three types: (1) a length less than 50 nt, including microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and new noncoding small RNAs (priRNAs); (2) a length ranging from 50 to 500 nt, including ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and transfer RNA (tRNA); and (3) a length greater than 500 nt, including long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs), which differ from traditional linear RNA (Li et al, 2020;Yang et al, 2020). In the past, scholars often ignored the role of noncoding RNA and regarded it as "junk RNA."…”

“…lncRNA Non-coding RNAs with a length of more than 500 nt are defined as lncRNAs. Initially, lncRNAs were not considered a transcriptional product of RNA (Liu et al, 2019). However, recent studies have identified roles for lncRNAs in many important biological processes, including genomic imprinting, chromosome modification, chromosome silencing, transcriptional interference and transcriptional activation (Delas and Hannon, 2017;Li et al, 2020).…”

“…Epigenetics generally refers to heritable phenotypic changes that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequences. Although the genotype does not change, the phenotype undergoes hereditary changes, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA (ncRNAs) alterations (Yang and Duan, 2016;Letarouilly et al, 2019;Li et al, 2020). Epigenetics play important regulatory roles in many biological processes, such as tissue-specific gene expression, chromosome inactivation, genomic imprinting and cell differentiation (Yang and Duan, 2016).…”

“…An increasing number of studies have shown that epigenetic abnormalities are important causes of malignant tumors, metabolic diseases, somatic diseases and autoimmune diseases (Letarouilly et al, 2019;Pang et al, 2020;Yang et al, 2020;Zovkic, 2020). In recent years, studies have shown that epigenetics are involved in the regulation of bone formation and can significantly affect the differentiation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts (Letarouilly et al, 2019;Li et al, 2020). The application of epigenetics to the study of mechanisms related to bone biology and bone metabolism and to the exploration of mechanisms regulating the differentiation and proliferation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts is of great significance for understanding the etiology and pathogenesis of metabolic bone diseases, such as OP, as well as for developing appropriate prevention and treatment strategies of these diseases.…”

Ginsenoside Rg3 attenuates ovariectomy‐induced osteoporosis via AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway

“…Differentiation and mineralization in osteoblasts play a crucial part in bone formation, while differentiation in osteoclasts is involved in bone resorption (Boyle, Simonet, & Lacey, 2003; Sun et al, 2019). Osteoporosis is considered to be a severe health issue and 160 million people are suffering from this disease in China (Li, Li, Chen, & Xu, 2020). Moreover, osteoporosis is a chronic disease and it can threaten people's health, reduce activities of daily living and worsen quality of life.…”