Profiles of Exosomal microRNAs in Joint Cells and Candidate microRNAs for Cartilage Regeneration

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

The activation of chondrogenic progenitor cells (CPCs) in articular cartilage during a traumatic injury is vital for cartilage regeneration. Although our understanding of the mechanisms underlying CPC chondrogenic activation remains incomplete, there is evidence that exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are involved in tissue healing due to their regulating role of posttranscriptional gene expressions. In this study, we profiled enriched and differential expression of miRNAs in exosomes derived from bovine joint cells (CPCs, chondrocytes, and synoviocytes) via Next Generation Sequencing analysis and validated the potential therapeutic effects of candidate exosomal miRNAs for cartilage regeneration. For CPC-based cartilage regeneration, we tested the impact of administering miR-107, miR-140, and miR-148a on CPCs because we found that these miRNAs were highly and differentially expressed in chondrocytes-derived exosomes (CC-Exo). We found that: (1) miR-140 induced chondrogenic gene expression including SRY-box transcription factor 9, collagen type 2A1, and aggrecan, and (2) miR-107 suppressed catabolic gene expression including matrix metalloproteinase 3, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 5, and nitric oxide synthase 2. Our findings indicate that transfection of CPCs with specific chondrogenic miRNAs present in CC-Exo have the potential to promote CPC-

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.