Long non-coding RNA H19 promotes myoblast fibrogenesis via regulating the miR-20a-5p-Tgfbr2 axis

Emerging evidence has indicated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in diverse biological processes, including fibrosis. Here, we report that lncRNA H19 is able to promote skeletal muscle fibrosis. lnc-H19 was identified to be highly expressed in skeletal muscle fibrosis in vivo and in vitro; while lnc-H19 knockdown attenuated fibrosis in vitro. The knockdown of lnc-H19 was proved to inhibit the activation of the TGFβ/Smad pathway in C2C12 myoblasts by sponging miR-20a-5p to regulate Tgfbr2 expression through the competing endogenous RNA function. Our study elucidates the roles of the lnc-H19-miR-20a-5p-Tgfbr2 axis in regulating the TGFβ/Smad pathway of myoblast fibrogenesis, which might provide a promising therapeutic target for skeletal muscle fibrosis.