MiR-615-3p inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of human lumbar ligamentum flavum cells via suppression of osteogenic regulators GDF5 and FOXO1

Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is a disease of heterotopic ossification in spinal ligaments. The key of the OLF pathogenesis is the differentiation of fibroblasts into osteoblasts. In this study, we explored the role of miR-615-3p in the osteogenic differentiation of human LF cells. The expression of miR-615-3p was detected during the osteogenic differentiation of hFOB1.19 human osteoblasts, human BMSCs, and human LF cells. The qPCR results showed that miR-615-3p was being decreased during the osteogenic differentiation of these cell lineages. Then, both gain- and loss-function experiments, respectively performed by single-strand miR-615-3p mimic and antagomir, revealed that miR-615-3p negatively regulated the osteogenesis of hLF cells, manifested by a lighter staining degree with Alizarin Red and a decreased level of osteogenic marker genes, including alkaline phosphatase (ALP), RUNX2, osterix (ostx), osteocalcin (OCN), and osteopontin (OPN). Subsequently, our data on bioinformatic analysis, 3′-UTR luciferase activity assay, and protein level detection indicated that miR-615-3p directly targeted and suppressed the expression of FOXO1 and GDF5. Furthermore, knockdown of either FOXO1 or GDF5 could inhibit the osteogenic differentiation of hLF cells, which displayed a similar effect with the miR-615-3p mimic. In conclusion, miR-615-3p negatively regulates the osteogenic differentiation of hLF cells through post-transcriptionally suppressing osteogenic regulators GDF5 and FOXO1. It can be regarded as a potential target for human OLF therapy.