Regulation of Chondrocyte Differentiation by miR-455-3p Secreted by Bone Marrow Stem Cells through Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog Deleted on Chromosome Ten/Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase-Protein Kinase B

The effects of the regulation of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) by microribonucleic acid(miR-) 455-3p on bone marrow stem cells' (BMSCs') chondrogenic development were examined based on the phosphoinositide 3kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signal pathway. The alterations in miR-455-3p and PTEN were identified using osteoarthritis (OA) and healthy chondrocytes. Rats raised on the SD diet had their BMSCs isolated for chondrocyte-induced differentiation (blank group), transfected miR-455-3p mimic (mimic group), and inhibitor (inhibitor group). Besides, cell proliferation, alizarin red mineralization staining, and the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were detected. Real-time fluorescent quantitation polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot were utilized to detect Runx2, OPN, OSX, COL2A1 mRNA, and the difference between PI3K and AKT. Dual-luciferase reporter (DLR) genes were selected to analyze the target relationship of miR-455-3p to PTEN. It was demonstrated that miR-455-3p in OA was downregulated, while PTEN was upregulated (P < 0.05) in comparison to healthy chondrocytes (P < 0.05). Versus those in the blank group, alizarin red mineralization staining and the activity of ALP increased; RUNX, OPN, OSX, COL2A1 mRNA, p-PI3K, and p-AKT were elevated in the mimic group (P < 0.05). Versus those in the blank and mimic groups, alizarin red mineralization staining and the activity of ALP reduced; RUNX, OPN, OSX, COL2A1 mRNA, p-PI3K, and p-AKT were downregulated in the inhibitor group (P < 0.05). miR-455-3p could target PTEN to inhibit its expression, thus activating the PI3K/AKT signal pathway and promoting BMSCs chondrocyte-induced differentiation. The research results provided reference for the occurrence of OA and the study on therapeutic target.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effects of regulating PTEN by miR-455-3p on chondrogenic development of BMSCs through the PI3K/AKT signal pathway. The downregulation of miR-455-3p and upregulation of PTEN were observed in OA compared to healthy chondrocytes. The results showed that miR-455-3p could target PTEN to activate the PI3K/AKT pathway, promoting chondrocyte-induced differentiation of BMSCs.