LncRNA OIP5-AS1/miR-410-3p/Wnt7b axis promotes the proliferation of rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes via regulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Abstract

LncRNA OIP5-AS1 has a common gene imbalance in various cancers and tumours, which plays an important role in regulating its biological function. However, there are few studies on lncRNA OIP5-AS1 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of lncRNA OIP5-AS1 in the pathogenesis of RA. In the present study, we established an adjuvant arthritis (AA) rat model to obtain primary fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs);The subcellular localisation of lncRNA OIP5-AS1 was detected by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) assay; Cell proliferation of FLSs was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide(MTT) assay;IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA);Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), Western blots(WB) and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of lncRNA OIP5-AS1/miR-410-3p/wnt7b signal axis and Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway related indicators in FLSs. FISH assay confirmed the presence of lncRNA OIP5-AS1 in the cytoplasm, suggesting that it acts as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA). qRT-PCR showed that the expression of lncRNA OIP5-AS1 was upregulated in FLSs, while the expression of miR-410-3p was downregulated in FLSs. We also found that lncRNA OIP5-AS1 knockdown inhibited the proliferation and inflammation of FLSs. Moreover, the expression of Wnt7b, the downstream target gene of miR-410-3p, and the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway were also inhibited by lncRNA OIP5-AS1 knockdown. These results suggested that lncRNA OIP5-AS1 promotes the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway by regulating the miR-410-3p/Wnt7b signalling axis, thereby participating in the occurrence and development of RA.

Keywords:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• fibroblast-like synoviocytes
• LncRNA OIP5-AS1
• proliferation
• Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Acknowledgments

We appreciate the logistic support for the study design and encouragement from Mr. Fan Qiang and Mrs. Yao Lan.

Authors contributions

Yongzhong Wang contributed to the study concept and design; YuanSun wrote the manuscript and conducted the experiments; HuiJiang contributed to the analysis of experimental data and study design; Lingyu Pan and Yanquan Han contributed to the manuscript review; and YanChen and Yeke Jiang performed the animal model. All authors approved the results of this experiment and the final manuscript.

Availability of data and materials

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported in part by grants from the Key University Science Research Project of the Department of Education of Anhui Province (Nos. KJ2019A0440 and KJ2020A0409).