Roles of miR-214 in bone physiology and disease

MicroRNAs(miRNAs)are small non-coding RNAs(ncRNAs)that regulate the expression of their targetmRNAs post-transcriptionally.Since their discovery,thousands of highly conserved miRNAs have been identified and investigated for their role in human health and diseases.MiR-214 has been increasingly reported to have an association with the regulation of bone metabolism.Reports suggested that miR-214 controls the critical aspects of osteoblasts(bone-forming cells),including their differentiation,proliferation,viability,and migration.Studies have also reported the functional significance of miR-214 in bone diseases and suggested its candidature as a diagnostic and therapeutic target.Further,targeting miR-214 by other ncRNAs,such as linear ncRNAs and circular RNAs,has provided novel insights into treating bone diseases.This review briefly discusses the contemporary findings of the physiological and pathological roles of miR-214 in bone turnover.In addition,we highlight the important ncRNA/mRNA/miR-214 axes influencing osteoblast differentiation that are of therapeutic importance for the treatment of bone-related diseases.

Mimicking the native bone regenerative microenvironment for in situ repair of large physiological and pathological bone defects

Bone is a complex biological tissue with a complicated hierarchical nanocomposite structure.The native microen-vironment of the bone tissue may be significantly disrupted by large physiological and pathological bone defects.Bone defects are often treated via complex surgical procedures that involve the application of autografts or al-lografts.While these grafting procedures often suffer from insufficient natural bone stock and immunorejection.Moreover,these traditional treatment methods fail to simulate a regenerative microenvironment,which plays a significant role in regeneration of bone tissue and repair of large bone defects.To this end,various biomimetic scaffolds have been devised to mimic the native microenvironment of bone and thereby to simultaneously re-pair bone defects and promote bone regeneration.We propose here a novel concept,in vivo bone regenerative microenvironment(BRM),which enables repair of large bone defects and enhances new bone tissue formation with external regulation.In this review,we mainly focus on materials and methods for fabrication of biomimetic scaffolds,as well as their therapeutic efficacy in modulating the BRM of large physiological and pathological bone defects.

Clinical and Pathological Observation of 106 Aplastic Anemia Patients Treated by Spatholobus Suberectus Composita

Objective: To investigate the pharmaceutical effect of Spatholobus suberectus composita (SSC) on bone marrow hematopoiesis and microenvironment of aplastic anemia. Methods: One hundred and six cases of aplastic anemia patients were treated by SSC for 24 months, and the pathological changes of bone marrow of 45 patients were observed before and after treatment, and compared with those of 17 cases of normal volunteers as control. Results: The total effective rate was 77. 4 %. The volume of nucleated cells changed from 15. 7 ± 10. 2 vol% to 39. 2 ± 13. 9 vol%, the percentage of the granulocytes from 31. 4 ± 12. 4 % to 39. 9 ± 10. 4% ), the erythroblasts from 19. 8 ± 15. 9 % to 36. 7 ± 13. 5 %, megakaryocytes from 1. 4 ± 2. 3 cell/section to 24. 0 ± 24. 6 cell/section), and the microvessel number from 40. 0 ± 23. 4 .es/100mm2 to 201. 0 ± 141. 0 ves/100mm2 ), all the criteria increased significantly (P < 0. 01 or P < 0. 05 ). Conclusion: SSC could not only irritate the hematopoiesis, but also exert reconstructive action to marrow microenvironment.