Objective Hedgehog(Hh) signaling has recently been associated with cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis(OA). As interleukin-1β(IL-1β) is a critical mediator of OA pathogenesis, here we determined whether IL-1β induces the expression of sonic hedgehog(SHH) and its regulation by microRNAs in human chondrocytes. Methods SHH protein expression in human OA-cartilage and in an animal model of OA was determined by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence respectively. Gene and protein expression in IL-1β or SHH-stimulated chondrocytes was determined by TaqMan assays and immunoblotting respectively. Effect of overexpression of miR-602 and miR-608 or their anatgomirs on SHH expression was evaluated by transient transfections of human chondrocytes and HEK-293 cells. Role of signaling pathways was evaluated using small molecule inhibitors. Binding of miRNAs with the putative “seed sequence” in the SHH mRNA was validated with a SHH luciferase reporter assay. Results Expression of SHH, PTCH-1, GLI-1, HHIP, MMP-13, and COL10A1 was high in damaged OAcartilage. Expression of SHH was inversely correlated with the expression of miR-608 in damaged cartilage and in IL-1β-stimulated chondrocytes. Transfection with miR-608 or miR-602 mimics inhibited the reporter activity and mutation of the miRNAs “seed sequences” abolished the repression of reporter activity. Overexpression of miR-602 or miR-608 inhibited the expression of SHH mRNA and protein and this was abrogated by antagomirs. Stimulation with SHH-protein up-regulated the MMP-13 expression and inhibition of Hh signaling blocked MMP-13 expression in OA chondrocytes. Conclusions miR-602 and miR-608 are important regulators of SHH expression in chondrocytes and their suppression by IL-1β may contribute to the enhanced expression of SHH and MMP-13 in OA.

Background: Cytosine hydroxymethylation in the genomic DNA controls gene expression. Results: Treatment of primary chondrocytes with IL-1␤ alone or in conjunction with TNF-␣ inhibited TET1 and IDH expression and suppressed cytosine hydroxymethylation. Conclusion: IL-1␤ and TNF-␣ decrease DNA hydroxymethylation by suppressing the expression and activity of TET1 and IDH. Significance: Pro-inflammatory cytokines likely control gene expression by modulating the 5-hmC levels.

Objective Enhanced IL-6 expression plays an important role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). MCPIP1 is a novel post-transcriptional regulator of IL-6 expression and is targeted by miR-9. We investigated the MCPIP1 expression in OA cartilage and explored whether targeting of MCPIP1 by miR-9 contributes to enhanced IL-6 expression in OA. Methods Gene and protein expression in IL-1β-stimulated human OA chondrocytes/cartilage was determined by TaqMan assays and immunoblotting respectively. MCPIP1 and IL-6 mRNA expression at single cell level was analyzed using RNAScopeTM. MCPIP1 protein interaction with IL-6 mRNA was investigated using RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP). Transient transfections were used for siRNA mediated knockdown and overexpression of MCPIP1, its RNAse defective mutant, miR-9 or antagomir. Role of signaling pathways was evaluated using small molecule inhibitors. Binding of miR-9 with the “seed sequence” in the 3’UTR of MCPIP1 mRNA was investigated using a luciferase reporter assay. Results MCPIP1 mRNA expression was low but expression of miR-9 and IL-6 was high in the damaged OA cartilage. In IL-1β-stimulated OA chondrocytes expression of miR-9 and MCPIP1 was mutually exclusive and increase in miR-9 expression level correlated with reduced MCPIP1 expression and enhanced IL-6 expression. MCPIP1 protein directly binds with IL-6 mRNA and over-expression of wild type MCPIP1 destabilized the IL-6 mRNA. MCPIP1 expression was altered by overexpression or inhibition of miR-9. Transfection with miR-9 mimics inhibited the reporter activity and mutation of the “seed sequence” abolished the repression of reporter activity. Conclusions These studies implicate miR-9-mediated suppression of MCPIP1 in OA pathogenesis via upregulation of IL-6 expression in IL-1β-stimulated human OA chondrocytes.

MicroRNAs, a group of small, noncoding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression, play important roles in chondrocyte function and in the development of osteoarthritis. We characterized the dynamic repertoire of the chondrocyte miRNome and miRISC-associated miRNome by deep sequencing analysis of primary human chondrocytes. IL-1β treatment showed a modest effect on the expression profile of miRNAs in normal and osteoarthritis (OA) chondrocytes. We found a number of miRNAs that showed a wide range of sequence modifications including nucleotide additions and deletions at 5′ and 3′ ends; and nucleotide substitutions. miR-27b-3p showed the highest expression and miR-140-3p showed the highest number of sequence variations. AGO2 RIP-Seq analysis revealed the differential recruitment of a subset of expressed miRNAs and isoforms of miRNAs (isomiRs) to the miRISC in response to IL-1β, including miR-146a-5p, miR-155-5p and miR-27b-3p. Together, these results reveal a complex repertoire of miRNAs and isomiRs in primary human chondrocytes. Here, we also show the changes in miRNA composition of the miRISC in primary human chondrocytes in response to IL-1β treatment. These findings will provide an insight to the miRNA-mediated control of gene expression in the pathogenesis of OA.

IL-6 is an inflammatory cytokine and its overexpression plays an important role in osteoarthritis (OA) pathogenesis. Expression of IL-6 is regulated post-transcriptionally by MCPIP1. The 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of MCPIP1 mRNA harbors a miR-139 ‘seed sequence', therefore we examined the post-transcriptional regulation of MCPIP1 by miR-139 and its impact on IL-6 expression in OA chondrocytes. Expression of miR-139 was found to be high in the damaged portion of the OA cartilage compared with unaffected cartilage from the same patient and was also induced by IL-1β in OA chondrocytes. Inhibition of miR-139 decreased the expression of IL-6 mRNA by 38% and of secreted IL-6 protein by 40%. However, overexpression of miR-139 increased the expression of IL-6 mRNA by 36% and of secreted IL-6 protein by 56%. These data correlated with altered expression profile of MCPIP1 in transfected chondrocytes. Studies with a luciferase reporter construct confirmed the interactions of miR-139 with the ‘seed sequence' located in the 3′ UTR of MCPIP mRNA. Furthermore, miR-139 overexpression increased the catabolic gene expression but expression of anabolic markers remained unchanged. Overexpression of miR-139 also induced apoptosis in OA chondrocytes. Importantly, we also discovered that IL-6 is a potent inducer of miR-139 expression in OA chondrocytes. These findings indicate that miR-139 functions as a post-transcriptional regulator of MCPIP1 expression and enhances IL-6 expression, which further upregulates miR-139 expression in OA chondrocytes. These results support our hypothesis that miR-139-mediated downregulation of MCPIP1 promotes IL-6 expression in OA. Therefore, targeting miR-139 could be therapeutically beneficial in the management of OA.