title: Computational identification of miRNAs that modulate the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to osteoblasts.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous noncoding RNAs that play an instrumental role in post-transcriptional modulation of gene expression. Genes related to osteogenesis (i.e., RUNX2, COL1A1 and OSX) is important in controlling the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to bone tissues. The regulated expression level of miRNAs is critically important for the differentiation of MSCs to preosteoblasts. The understanding of miRNA regulation in osteogenesis could be applied for future applications in bone defects. Therefore, this study aims to shed light on the mechanistic pathway underlying osteogenesis by predicting miRNAs that may modulate this pathway. This study investigates RUNX2, which is a major transcription factor for osteogenesis that drives MSCs into preosteoblasts. Three different prediction tools were employed for identifying miRNAs related to osteogenesis using the 3'UTR of RUNX2 as the target gene. Of the 1,023 miRNAs, 70 miRNAs were found by at least two of the tools. Candidate miRNAs were then selected based on their free energy values, followed by assessing the probability of target accessibility. The results showed that miRNAs 23b, 23a, 30b, 143, 203, 217, and 221 could regulate the RUNX2 gene during the differentiation of MSCs to preosteoblasts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microscopy, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University , Bangkok , Thailand.
authors.forename: Kanokwan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Seenprachawong
authors.affiliation: Center for Research and Innovation, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University , Bangkok , Thailand.
authors.forename: Pornlada
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nuchnoi
authors.affiliation: Center of Data Mining and Biomedical Informatics, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University , Bangkok , Thailand.
authors.forename: Chanin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nantasenamat
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology and Applied Technology, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University , Bangkok , Thailand.
authors.forename: Virapong
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Prachayasittikul
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microscopy, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University , Bangkok , Thailand.
authors.forename: Aungkura
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Supokawej
keywords: Bioinformatics; Mesenchymal stem cells; MicroRNAs; Osteogenesis; RUNX2; miRNAs