CircTBCK protects against osteoarthritis by regulating extracellular matrix and autophagy

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a widespread chronic bone and joint disease for which there is currently no effective preventive or therapeutic treatment. Accumulating evidence indicates that circular RNAs (circRNAs), a class of noncoding RNAs, play critical roles in OA. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to reveal an unexplored circTBCK and elucidate its mechanism of action in the pathological process of OA. The different expression of circTBCK was obtained both in vitro and in vivo. In the in vivo model, mice were induced via destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) surgery, while in vitro model, mouse cells like primary chondrocytes of newborn mice and ATDC5 cell line were treated with IL-1β treatment (10 ng/mL for 24 h). The level of circTBCK was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). After circTBCK was overexpressed or knocked down, IL-1β treatment was performed, and then, chondrocyte viability was detected via a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay at 0, 24, 48, or 72 h. To assess type II collagen (Collagen II) expression, immunofluorescence (IF) analysis was used. The levels of mRNAs and proteins related to proliferation, the extracellular matrix (ECM) and autophagy were determined by qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Compared with OA treatment, primary chondrocytes with treatment of both circTBCK overexpression and IL-1βincreased the expression of anabolic factors-Collagen II and SRY-box transcription factor 9 (SOX9), proliferation-related molecules-Ki-67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and autophagy-related molecules-Microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3), B-cell lymphoma 1 (Bcl1), and autophagy-related 5 (Atg5) and decreased Sequestosome 1 (SQSTM1 or P62). In contrast, knockdown of circTBCK aggravated the chondrocyte degeneration induced by IL-1β. Overall, our findings suggest that circTBCK, an unexplored circRNA, could regulate autophagy, proliferation, and the extracellular matrix (ECM) to mitigate the development of OA, suggesting a possible target for OA prevention and therapy.