LncRNA expression profile analysis of Mg²⁺-induced osteogenesis by RNA-seq and bioinformatics

In recent years, magnesium (Mg) has been extensively studied for manufacturing biodegradable orthopedic devices. Besides other advantages, researches have shown that magnesium-based implants can stimulate osteogenesis thus accelerating orthopedic trauma recovery, but its molecular mechanism is not fully understood. Meanwhile, long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has been found to play vital role in regulating osteogenic differentiation.

To explore the role of lncRNA in Mg²⁺ (magnesium ions)-induced osteogenesis.

The effect of Mg²⁺ on mBMSCs proliferation was detected by the CCK-8 assay. The optimum concentration of Mg²⁺ (7.5 mM) in promoting mBMSCs osteogenesis was determined by ALP staining and Alizarin red staining, western blot and RT-qPCR were performed to detect osteogenic markers expressions. The lncRNAs and mRNAs expression profiles of mBMSCs were assessed by RNA-Seq and processed by bioinformatics analysis. The selected lncRNAs expression level was validated by RT-qPCR.

The effect of Mg²⁺ in promoting osteogenesis was confirmed and the optimum concentration was determined as 7.5 mM. The lncRNAs and mRNAs differentially expressed between 7.5 mM Mg²⁺-treated group and control group was detected and functional analysis revealed that their function were associated with osteogenesis. The ceRNA networks were constructed for H19 and Dubr that aberrantly expressed in two groups. The ceRNA networks of selected lncRNAs (H19 and Dubr) were constructed.

This study identified H19 and Dubr as osteogenic associated lncRNAs involved in Mg²⁺-induced osteogenesis, and they might play their roles through lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA axis.