LncRNA AWPPH is downregulated in osteoporosis and regulates type I collagen α1 and α2 ratio

Abstract

Normal ratio of type I collagen α1 to α2 (2:1) maintains normal bone microarchitecture. Altered ratios lead to formation of collagen homotrimers and deteriorated bone microarchitecture. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of lncRNA AWPPH in osteoporosis. We observed that the expression of lncRNA AWPPH was downregulated in osteoporosis patients than that in healthy controls. Downregulated expression of lncRNA AWPPH distinguished osteoporosis patients from healthy controls. In vitro cell experiments showed that knockdown of lncRNA AWPPH led to upregulated α1 but downregulated expression of α2 in osteoblasts, which made the α1 to α2 ratio higher than 2:1. In contrast, overexpression of lncRNA AWPPH led to downregulated α1 but upregulated α2 in osteoblasts, which made the α1 to α2 ratio lower than 2:1. Therefore, lncRNA AWPPH is downregulated in osteoporosis and altered the expression of lncRNA AWPPH regulates type I collagen α1 and α2 ratio in osteoblasts.

Keywords:

• Osteoporosis
• lncRNA AWPPH
• type I collagen α1
• type I collagen α2

Ethical approval

The present study was approved by the Ethics Committee of The Fifth People’s Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University. The research has been carried out in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. All patients and healthy volunteers provided written informed consent prior to their inclusion within the study.

Author contributions

GQ and MHW: experiments work, data analysis and manuscript writing. GQ, YMY, YHD, YH, MHW: experiment work and literature research. MHW: research design and project management. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

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

Data availability

The analysed data sets generated during the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.