Regulation of lncRNA-H19/miR-140-5p in cartilage matrix degradation and calcification in osteoarthritis

Background: To study the effect of long non-coding RNA H19/microRNA (miR)-140-5p regulatory axis on the degradation and calcification of osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage matrix. Methods: Twenty cases of clinical OA cartilage tissue and healthy cartilage tissue were collected. Construction of small interfering RNA vector (si-H19) and negative control (si-Control), miR-140-5p mimic and negative control mimic-NC, miR-140-5p inhibitor, and negative control inhibitor-NC transfected human chondrocytes HC-A cells. Chondrocytes were categorized into classes of si-H19, si-Control, mimic, mimic-NC, inhibitor, NC inhibitor, inhibitor + si-H19, NC inhibitor + si-H19. The expression levels of H19, miR-140-5p, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OCN), and bone sialoprotein (BSP) in cartilage tissue and chondrocytes were detected using real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). In each group of chondrocytes, Western blotting was used to detect the levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, MMP-13, and type II alpha 1 collagen fibers (COL2A1). CCK-8 was used to detect the cell proliferation rate, and flow cytometry was used to detect the cell apoptosis rate. Results: H19 was up-regulated in OA cartilage tissue (P<0.05); Silencing H19 not only prevented chondrocyte apoptosis but also facilitated chondrocyte proliferation (both P<0.05), down-regulated MMP-1 and MMP-13 expression levels (both P<0.05), and up-regulated COL2A1 expression rates (P<0.05). Also, silenced H19 inhibited the mRNA level of ALP, OCN, and BSP and ALP activity of chondrocytes (all P<0.05). There was a negative correlation between miR-140-5p and H19 in OA cartilage tissue and chondrocytes (r=-0.98, P<0.001). Silenced miR-140-5p significantly reversed the inhibitory effects of silenced H19 on matrix degradation and calcification markers in chondrocytes (all P<0.05). Conclusions: The present study showed that the H19/ miR-140-5p regulatory axis could affect the degradation and calcification of the cartilage matrix in OA cells.