Drug Design, Development and Therapy (Jul 2019)

Downregulation of microRNA-23b-3p alleviates IL-1β-induced injury in chondrogenic CHON-001 cells

  • Yang Q,
  • Zhou Y,
  • Cai P,
  • Fu W,
  • Wang J,
  • Wei Q,
  • Li X

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 13
pp. 2503 – 2512

Abstract

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Qining Yang, Yongwei Zhou, Pengfei Cai, Weicong Fu, Jinhua Wang, Qiang Wei, Xiaofei LiDepartment of Joint Surgery, Jinhua Municipal Central Hospital, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321000, People’s Republic of ChinaBackground: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease, which is characterized by degradation of articular cartilage. Evidence indicated that miR-23b-3p was upregulated in cartilage tissues of a patient with OA. However, the mechanism by which miR-23b-3p regulates the occurrence and development of OA remains unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the role of miR-23b-3p in the progression of OA.Methods: In this study, qRT-PCR was used to measure the expression of miR-23b-3p in OA tissue samples and normal controls, respectively. Western blotting assay was performed to detect the levels of collagen II, aggrecan, Bax and active caspase 3 in CHON-001 cells. In addition, the dual-luciferase reporter system assay was used to detect the interaction between miR-23b-3p and COL11A2 in OA.Results: The levels of miR-23b-3p were upregulated, while the expressions of collagen II and aggrecan were decreased in OA tissues and in IL-1β-treated CHON-001 cells. In addition, IL-1β significantly induced apoptosis of CHON-001 cells via increasing the levels of Bax and active caspase 3. However, downregulation of miR-23b-3p markedly inhibited IL-1β-induced apoptosis in CHON-001 cells via increasing the collagen II and aggrecan levels and decreasing Bax and active caspase 3 expressions. Meanwhile, dual-luciferase assay showed that COL11A2 was the direct target of miR-23b-3p in CHON-001 cells. Overexpression of miR-23b-3p markedly decreased the level of COL11A2 in cells. Moreover, downregulation of miR-23b-3p alleviated synovitis/cartilage destruction and reduced Osteoarthritis Research Society International scores and subchondral bone thickness in vivo.Conclusion: Downregulation of miR-23b-3p could alleviate the progression of OA through upregulating COL11A2 in vivo and in vitro. Therefore, downregulation of miR-23b-3p might be a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of OA.Keywords: microRNA-23b-3p, osteoarthritis, IL-1β, COL11A2  

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