BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common chronic musculoskeletal diseases, yet to date it lacks effective therapeutic strategies. Increasing evidence suggests that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve pivotal roles in the occurrence and development of OA. However, the possible molecular mechanism involving lncRNAs, such as nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1), in OA progression is still unclear.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: First, NEAT1 and miR-181a expression in OA synovium tissues and normal synovium tissues were detected. Then, the effect of NEAT1 on modulating growth ability, apoptosis, and inflammation in OA chondrocytes was investigated by a series of loss-function experiments. Next, the correlation between NEAT1, miR-181a, and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase 1-like (GPD1L) was fully investigated. Finally, the downregulation of miR-181a was employed as a recovery experiment to explore the functional mechanism of NEAT1 in OA.

RESULTS: In the present study, we found that NEAT1 expression was downregulated in OA tissues, while miR-181a expression was prominently upregulated. Moreover, reduced expression of NEAT1 suppressed cell growth while elevating the apoptotic rate and increasing the abundance of inflammatory cytokines released in OA chondrocytes. Furthermore, we clarified that miR-181a was a direct sponge of NEAT1, and GPD1L was able to bind to miR-181a. Additionally, we found that downregulation of miR-181a was able to attenuate the effect of NEAT1 on apoptosis, inflammatory response, and proliferation in OA chondrocytes.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that downregulation of NEAT1 aggravated progression of OA via modulating the miR-181a/GPD1L axis, providing a novel insight into the mechanism of OA pathogenesis.

Keywords: Osteoarthritis, Chondrocytes, Glycerolphosphate Dehydrogenase