MiR-148a-3p regulates the fracture healing process by targeting MAFB.

Abstract

Osteoporotic vertebral fracture (OVF) is an extremely common fragile fracture in the elderly population. To explore the expression changes, clinical significance and mechanism of action of miR-148a-3p in the postoperative healing process of patients with OVF. 185 OVF patients who received percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) treatment were selected as the research subjects. RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression levels of miR-148a-3p and genes. ROC curve analysis was applied to evaluate the relationship between miR-148a-3p and postoperative healing, as well as its diagnostic value for delayed healing. In vitro, miR-148a-3p overexpression and knockdown cell models were established to investigate its potential mechanism in fracture healing. Serum miR-148a-3p expression in OVF patients was significantly higher than in healthy controls, and it gradually decreased over time after surgery. The expression of miR-148a-3p in the delayed healing group is significantly higher than that in the healing group, and it showed potential diagnostic value for delayed healing (AUC = 0.859). In addition, miR-148a-3p is an independent risk factor for delayed healing. In cell experiments, during the process of osteogenic induction, expression of miR-148a-3p decreased, while the expression of osteogenic markers increased. Mechanistically, miR-148a-3p directly targeted and inhibited MAFB expression; its upregulation suppressed cell proliferation and osteogenic marker expression, and these inhibitory effects were reversed by MAFB overexpression. miR-148a-3p inhibits osteoblast proliferation and differentiation by targeting and suppressing MAFB, participates in the post-OVF healing process.