MiR-30 Family: A Novel Avenue for Treating Bone and Joint Diseases?

Bone and joint diseases are a group of clinically heterogeneous diseases characterized by various bone strength disorders, bone structural defects and bone mass abnormalities. Common bone diseases include osteoporosis, skeletal dysplasia, and osteosarcoma, and common joint diseases include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and degenerative disc disease. all of them lead to high medical costs. The miR-30 family consists of a total of 5 members: miR-30a, miR-30b, miR-30c, miR-30d and miR-30e. Accumulating evidence has indicated that the miR-30 family may be involved in the occurrence and development of bone and joint diseases. For example, miR-30a is highly expressed in blood samples of osteoporosis patients, miR-30a/b increases in cartilage tissue of osteoarthritis patients, and lower expression of miR-30c is associated with higher malignance and shorter survival time of osteosarcoma. Mechanistically, by targeting crucial transcription factors (RUNX2, SOX9, beclin-1, etc.), the miR-30 family regulates some critical pathways of bone homeostasis (Wnt/β-Catenin, mTOR, PI3K/AKT, etc.). In view of the distinct actions of the miR-30 family on bone metabolism, we hypothesize that the miR-30 family may be a new remedy for the clinical treatment and prevention of some bone and joint diseases.