Tumour necrosis factor α regulates the miR‐27a‐3p–Sfrp1 axis in a mouse model of osteoporosis

Abstract

Abstract Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease that involves gradual loss of bone density and mass, thus resulting in increased fragility and risk of fracture. Inflammatory cytokines, such as tumour necrosis factor α (TNF‐α), inhibit osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), and several microRNAs are implicated in osteoporosis development. This study aimed to explore the correlation between TNF‐α treatment and miR‐27a‐3p expression in BMSC osteogenesis and further understand their roles in osteoporosis. An osteoporosis animal model was established using ovariectomized (OVX) mice. Compared with Sham mice, the OVX mice had a significantly elevated level of serum TNF‐α and decreased level of bone miR‐27a‐3p, and in vitro TNF‐α treatment inhibited miR‐27a‐3p expression in BMSCs. In addition, miR‐27a‐3p promoted osteogenic differentiation of mouse BMSCs in vitro, as evidenced by alkaline phosphatase staining and Alizarin Red‐S staining, as well as enhanced expression of the osteogenic markers Runx2 and Osterix. Subsequent bioinformatics analysis combined with experimental validation identified secreted frizzled‐related protein 1 (Sfrp1) as a downstream target of miR‐27a‐3p. Sfrp1 overexpression significantly inhibited the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs in vitro and additional TNF‐α treatment augmented this inhibition. Moreover, Sfrp1 overexpression abrogated the promotive effect of miR‐27a‐3p on the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. Furthermore, the miR‐27a‐3p–Sfrp1 axis was found to exert its regulatory function in BMSC osteogenic differentiation via regulating Wnt3a–β‐catenin signalling. In summary, this study revealed that TNF‐α regulated a novel miR‐27a‐3p–Sfrp1 axis in osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. The data provide new insights into the development of novel therapeutic strategies for osteoporosis.

Keywords

• BMSCs
• miR‐27a‐3p
• osteoporosis
• Sfrp1
• TNF‐α