Long non-coding RNA MIAT knockdown promotes osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells

Recently, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as critical players in gene regulation for multiple biological processes. However, their roles and functions in human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) differentiation remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of lncRNA myocardial infarction-associated transcript (MIAT) in the osteogenic differentiation of hASCs. We found that the expression of MIAT was downregulated in a time-dependent manner during hASCs osteoinduction. MIAT knockdown promoted osteogenic differentiation of hASCs both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, MIAT expression was increased upon tumor necrosis factor-α treatment and MIAT knockdown reversed the negative effects of inflammation on osteoblastic differentiation. This study improves our knowledge of lncRNAs in governing the osteogenic differentiation of hASCs and may provide novel therapeutic strategies for treating bone diseases.