LncRNA KMT2E-AS1 attenuates osteoarthritis progression via sponging miR-375 to promote HID1 expression

Abstract

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is characterized by localized cartilage degeneration and destruction of the knee joint and surrounding osteophytes, with clinical manifestations such as localized knee pain, morning stiffness, swelling, etc. . Recent epidemiological surveys have shown that the percentage of knee osteoarthritis in people aged 50-80 years is as high as 95.01% , and the prevalence increases gradually with age. The aim of this study was to explore the function and regulatory mechanism of lncRNA KMT2E-AS1 in osteoarthritis (OA). The expression of LncRNA KMT2E-AS1, miR-375 and (COL2A1), Aggregcan, and HID1 was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. Degeneration of cartilage was determined by pathological staining with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Safranin O. LncRNA KMT2E-AS1 and HID1 expression was lower in OA cartilage tissue compared to the normal group, while miR-375 was higher in OA cartilage tissue compared to the control group. Functional experiments showed that upregulation of MINCR promoted cell proliferation and inhibited apoptosis and extracellular matrix (ECM) denaturation. These data suggest that LncRNA KMT2E-AS1 interferes with OA progression by targeting miR-376 to regulate the expression of HID1.