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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Geriatric Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1444165
This article is part of the Research Topic Advances in the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Osteoporosis: From Bench to Bedside View all 9 articles
Deciphering the Role of lncRNA-Mediated ceRNA Network in Disuse Osteoporosis: Insights from Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells under
Provisionally accepted- 1 Tianjin University, Tianjin, Tianjin, China
- 2 Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China
Background: Disuse osteoporosis (DOP) poses a significant health risk during extended space missions. Although the importance of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and orthopedic diseases is recognized, the precise mechanism by which lncRNAs contribute to DOP remains elusive. This research aims to elucidate the potential regulatory role of lncRNAs in DOP.Methods: Sequencing data were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus datasets, including coding and non-coding RNAs. Positive co-expression pairs of lncRNA-mRNA were identified using weighted gene co-expression network analysis, while miRNA-mRNA expression pairs were derived from the prediction database. A mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA network was established according to the shared mRNA.Functional enrichment analysis was conducted for the shared mRNAs using genome ontology and KEGG pathways. Hub genes were identified through protein-protein interaction analysis, and connectivity map analysis was employed to identify potential therapeutic agents for DOP.Results: Integration of 74 lncRNAs, 19 miRNAs, and 200 mRNAs yielded a comprehensive mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA network. Enrichment analysis highlighted endoplasmic reticulum stress and extracellular matrix (ECM) pathways as significant in the ceRNA network. PPI analysis revealed three hub genes (COL4A1, LAMC1, and LAMA4) and identified five lncRNA-miRNA-hub gene regulatory axes. Furthermore, three potential therapeutic compounds (SB-216763, oxymetholone, and flubendazole) for DOP were identified.This study sheds light on the involvement of lncRNAs in the pathogenesis and treatment of DOP through the construction of a ceRNA network, linking protein-coding mRNA functions with non-coding RNAs.
Keywords: Disuse osteoporosis, lncRNA, WGCNA, Competing endogenous RNAs, BMSCs, CMAP
Received: 05 Jun 2024; Accepted: 17 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wei, Zhang, Li, FU and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jun Liu, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, Tianjin, China
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