Systematic analysis of miRNAs in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) represent RNA species found in serum. Many miRNAs were observed that were related to osteoporosis and osteopenia. However, expression and function analysis of miRNAs in postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) remain unaddressed. We first compared the miRNA expression of blood samples in postmenopausal women with osteopenia or with osteoporosis via analysis of GSE64433. Bioinformatics analyses were conducted to get the key miRNAs and their functions and pathways. 331 miRNAs were being identified as differentially expressed miRNAs. Among these, 122 miRNA (36.86%) were up-regulated, and the remaining 209 miRNAs (63.14%) were down-regulated. 105 genes were predicted as the targets of these miRNAs. GO enrichment analysis results showed that the miRNAs mainly enriched in DNA binding, ATP binding, gene expression, regulation of the apoptotic process, chromatin binding, and protein kinase binding. KEGG enrichment analysis results demonstrated that the miRNAs mainly enriched in the TGF beta signaling pathway, wnt signaling pathway, JAK-STAT signaling pathway, and androgen receptor signaling pathway. This study identified the abundant differentially expressed miRNAs in the blood samples of postmenopausal women with osteopenia or with osteoporosis. This study may contribute to getting new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for PMOP.

摘要

微小核糖核酸代表在血清中发现的核糖核酸种类。许多微小核糖核酸发现与骨质疏松和骨量减少有关。然而, 在绝经后骨质疏松症(PMOP)中微小核糖核酸的表达和功能分析仍未被揭示。我们首先通过对GSE64433的分析比较了绝经后骨质减少或骨质疏松妇女血液样本中miRNA的表达, 进行生物信息学分析以获得关键的微小核糖核酸及其功能和途径。331个微小核糖核酸被鉴定为差异表达的微小核糖核酸。其中, 122个微小核糖核酸(36.86%)上调, 其余209个微小核糖核酸(63.14%)下调。105个基因被预测为这些微小核糖核酸的靶点。GO富集分析结果表明, 微小核糖核酸主要富集于DNA结合、ATP结合、基因表达、凋亡过程调节、染色质结合和蛋白激酶结合。KEGG富集分析结果表明, miRNAs主要富集于TGFβ信号通路、wnt信号通路、JAK-STAT信号通路和雄激素受体信号通路。这项研究确定了绝经后骨量减少或骨质疏松妇女血液样本中大量差异表达的微小核糖核酸。这项研究可能有助于为绝经后骨质疏松获得新的诊断和治疗策略。

Keywords:

• MicroRNA
• postmenopausal osteoporosis
• microarray analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest has been reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [81620108018, 81930070], Tianjin Key Research And Development Plan, Key Projects for Science and Technology Support [19YFZCSY00660], Tianjin Medical University General Hospital Funding [ZYYFY2019019, 209060401201].