Open AccessmiR‑29b promotes the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human adipose tissue via the PTEN/AKT/β‑catenin signaling pathway
Author(s) -
Tian Xia,
Shuyun Dong,
Jie Tian
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of molecular medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.048
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1791-244X
pISSN - 1107-3756
DOI - 10.3892/ijmm.2020.4615
Subject(s) - tensin , pten , bone sialoprotein , pi3k/akt/mtor pathway , protein kinase b , microbiology and biotechnology , cancer research , osteopontin , mesenchymal stem cell , biology , runx2 , signal transduction , chemistry , alkaline phosphatase , osteocalcin , endocrinology , biochemistry , enzyme
Accumulating evidence has documented that microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) function as important post‑transcriptional regulators of the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), including human adipose‑derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs); however, their roles in hADSC osteogenic differentiation require further investigation. The present study aimed to investigate the role of miRNAs in the osteogenic differentiation of hADSCs and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. Using an miRNA microarray, it was found that 24 miRNAs were upregulated and 14 miRNAs were downregulated compared with the undifferentiated cells, and miR‑29b‑3p (miR‑29b) was selected for further experiments. Functional experiments revealed that the upregulation of miR‑29b by agomir‑29b significantly enhanced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the mineralization of extracellular matrix (ECM), and led to an increase in the mRNA and protein levels of osteogenic marker genes, including runt‑related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), osteopontin (OPN), osteocalcin (OCN) and bone sialoprotein (BSP), whereas the knockdown of miR‑29b suppressed these processes. In addition, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), a negative regulator of the AKT/β‑catenin pathway, was identified as a direct target of miR‑29b in the hADSCs. Moreover, it was observed that the overexpression of miR‑29b activated the AKT/β‑catenin signaling pathway by inhibiting PTEN expression in the hADSCs. Most importantly, it was also found that the overexpression of PTEN reversed the promoting effects of miR‑29b on osteogenic differentiation. On the whole, these findings suggest that miR‑29b promotes the osteogenic differentiation of hADSCs by modulating the PTEN/AKT/β‑catenin signaling pathway. Thus, this miRNA may be a promising target for the active modulation of hADSC‑derived osteogenesis.