Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To summarize the research progress of the regulatory role of microRNA (miRNA) in osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and its application as a therapeutic target and diagnostic tool in orthopedic diseases. METHODS: The recent literature on the regulation of MSCs osteogenic differentiation by miRNAs was extensively reviewed, and its regulatory mechanism and its application as a therapeutic target and diagnostic tool in orthopedic diseases were reviewed. RESULTS: miRNAs are small endogenous non-coding RNAs with a length of 20-22 nucleotides, which play an important role in the osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. Osteogenesis begins with the differentiation of MSCs into mature osteoblasts, and each stage of dynamic homeostasis of bone metabolism is associated with the regulation of different miRNAs. miRNAs are regulated from the post-transcriptional level by mRNAs cleavage, degradation, translational repression, or methylation. In addition, current studies suggest that miRNAs can be used as a new diagnostic tool and therapeutic target for orthopedic diseases. CONCLUSION: Further study on the regulation mechanism of miRNAs will provide more ideas for finding new therapeutic targets and diagnostic tools for orthopedic disease.