title: Plasma miRNA levels correlate with sensitivity to bone mineral density in postmenopausal osteoporosis patients.
abstract: In our study, we detect the levels of three micro-RNAs (miRNAs; miR-21, miR-133a and miR-146a) in the plasma of 120 Chinese postmenopausal women who were divided into three groups (normal, osteopenia and osteoporosis) according to the T-scores. Downregulation of miR-21, as well as upregulation of miR-133a, was validated in the plasma of osteoporosis and osteopenia patients versus the normal group. The difference in expression regarding the miR-146a level in plasma among the three groups was not significant (p > 0.01). The circulating miRNA expression levels and bone mineral density (BMD) were examined during a multiple correlation analysis as a dependent variable after adjusting for age, weight and height. We have demonstrated that specific miRNAs species are significantly changed in the plasma of osteoporosis and osteopenia patients and correlated with the BMD. Our study suggested a potential use of miR-21 and miR-133a as sensitive and plasma biomarkers for postmenopausal osteoporosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and.
authors.forename: Hongqiu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015519:Bone Density; D001851:Bone Diseases, Metabolic / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015663:Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; C548234:MIRN133 microRNA, human; C542542:MIRN146 microRNA, human; C524940:MIRN21 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Bone mineral density; miRNA; osteoporosis; postmenopausal