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Theranostics 2018; 8(10):2862-2883. doi:10.7150/thno.23547 This issue Cite

Research Paper

MicroRNA-193b-3p regulates chondrogenesis and chondrocyte metabolism by targeting HDAC3

Fangang Meng^#, Zhiwen Li^#, Zhiqi Zhang, Zibo Yang, Yan Kang, Xiaoyi Zhao, Dianbo Long, Shu Hu, Minghui Gu, Suiwen He, Peihui Wu, Zongkun Chang, Aishan He^✉, Weiming Liao^✉

Department of Joint Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of SunYat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China
^#Co-first authors: These authors contributed equally to this work.

✉ Corresponding author: Weiming Liao, Department of Joint Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of SunYat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China. E-mail: liaowmsysucom; Aishan He, Department of Sports Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of SunYat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China. E-mail: heaishan2006com. More

Abstract

Histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) plays a pivotal role in the repression of cartilage-specific gene expression in human chondrocytes. The aim of this study was to determine whether microRNA-193b-3p (miR-193b-3p) regulates the expression of HDAC3 during chondrogenesis and chondrocyte metabolism.

Methods: miR-193b-3p expression was assessed in a human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) model of chondrogenesis, in interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-treated primary human chondrocytes (PHCs), and in non-degraded and degraded cartilage. hMSCs and PHCs were transfected with miR-193b-3p or its antisense inhibitor. A direct interaction between miR-193b-3p and its putative binding site in the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) of HDAC3 mRNA was confirmed by performing luciferase reporter assays. Chondrocytes were transfected with miR-193b-3p before performing a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay with an anti-acetylated histone H3 antibody. To investigate miR-193b-3p-transfected PHCs in vivo, they were seeded in tricalcium phosphate-collagen-hyaluronate (TCP-COL-HA) scaffolds, which were then implanted in nude mice. In addition, plasma exosomal miR-193b-3p in samples from normal controls and patients with osteoarthritis (OA) were measured.

Results: miR-193b-3p expression was elevated in chondrogenic and hypertrophic hMSCs, while expression was significantly reduced in degraded cartilage compared to non-degraded cartilage. In addition, miR-193b-3p suppressed the activity of reporter constructs containing the 3′-UTR of HDAC3, inhibited HDAC3 expression, and promoted histone H3 acetylation in the COL2A1, AGGRECAN, COMP, and SOX9 promoters. Treatment with the HDAC inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) increased cartilage-specific gene expression and enhanced hMSCs chondrogenesis. TSA also increased AGGRECAN expression and decreased MMP13 expression in IL-1β-treated PHCs. Further, 8 weeks after implanting PHC-seeded TCP-COL-HA scaffolds subcutaneously in nude mice, we found that miR-193b overexpression strongly enhanced in vivo cartilage formation compared to that found under control conditions. We also found that patients with OA had lower plasma exosomal miR-193b levels than control subjects.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that miR-193b-3p directly targets HDAC3, promotes H3 acetylation, and regulates hMSC chondrogenesis and metabolism in PHCs.

Keywords: microRNA-193b-3p, HDAC3, histone acetylation, chondrogenesis, cartilage

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