Accumulating evidence indicates noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) fine-tune gene expression with mysterious machinery. We conducted a combination of mRNA, miRNA, circRNA, LncRNA microarray analyses on 10 adults' lumbar discs. Moreover, we performed additional global exploration on RNA interacting machinery in terms of in silico computational pipeline. Here we show the landscape of RNAs in human lumbar discs. In general, the RNA-abundant landscape comprises 14,635 mRNAs (37.93%), 2,059 miRNAs (5.34%), 18,995 LncRNAs (49.23%) and 2,894 (7.5%) circRNAs. Chromosome 1 contributes for RNA transcription at most (10%). Bi-directional transcription contributes evenly for RNA biogenesis, in terms of 5′ to 3′ and 3′ to 5′. Despite the majority of circRNAs are exonic, antisense (1.49%), intergenic (0.035%), intragenic (1.69%), and intronic (6.29%) circRNAs should not be ignored. A single miRNA could interact with a multitude of circRNAs. Notably, CDR1as or ciRS-7 harbors 66 consecutive binding sites for miR-7-5p (previous miR-7), evidencing our pipeline. The majority of binding sites are perfect-matched (78.95%). Collectively, global landscape of RNAs sheds novel insights on RNA interacting mechanisms in human intervertebral disc degeneration.

Accumulating evidence indicates that noncoding RNAs play important roles in a multitude of biological processes. The striking findings of miRNAs (microRNAs) and lncRNAs (long noncoding RNAs) as members of noncoding RNAs open up an exciting era in the studies of gene regulation. More recently, the reports of circRNAs (circular RNAs) add fuel to the noncoding RNAs research. Human intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a main cause of low back pain as a disabling spinal disease. We have addressed the expression profiles if miRNAs, lncRNAs and mRNAs in IDD (Wang et al., J Pathology, 2011 and Wan et al., Arthritis Res Ther, 2014). Furthermore, we thoroughly analysed noncoding RNAs, including miRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs in IDD using the very same samples. Here we delineate in detail the contents of the aforementioned microarray analyses. Microarray and sample annotation data were deposited in GEO under accession number GSE67567 as SuperSeries. The integrated analyses of these noncoding RNAs will shed a novel light on coding-noncoding regulatory machinery.

There is no consensus on how to establish models of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) in large mammals. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a novel canine model of ONFH, induced by a navigated injection of absolute ethanol. Using three-dimensional reconstruction and rapid prototyping manufacturing techniques, a new template was designed and processed to navigate the ethanol injection. The femoral heads of 18 adult dogs were injected with ethanol. Macroscopic, X-ray and histological examinations were performed at 3, 6, and 9 weeks after the operation. Further, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and radionuclide scans were performed 6 weeks postoperatively. Three weeks after the operation, the femoral heads showed evidence of osteonecrosis including increasing numbers of empty lacunae, decreased hematopoietic cells, and destroyed adipose tissue in the medullary cavity, which increased in severity at the subsequent follow-up evaluations at 6 and 9 weeks. Fractured trabeculae and fibrous tissue were noted 9 weeks postoperatively. Image analysis also revealed evidence of osteonecrosis, such as several osteopenic areas with sclerotic rims on the X-ray, several areas of low bone mineral density with sclerosis on the CT scan, increased uptake of the nuclide species in MRI, and an inhomogeneous long T2 signal on the radioisotopic images. Ethanol injection navigated by our novel template was successful in establishing a canine model of ONFH. This model can be used to test new treatment modalities for human ONFH.

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