Conclusions
These findings might provide novel insights into OA pathogenesis and contribute to the development of candidates for targeted therapeutics in OA.
Objective
Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by the chronic and progressive deterioration of articular cartilage. Chondrocyte senescence could lead to a shift in the balance between extracellular matrix (ECM) component synthesis and degradation. Small noncoding RNAs (sncRNAs), including microRNAs (miRNAs), P-element-induced wimpy testis-(PIWI-) interacting RNAs (piRNAs), small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs), and repeat-associated siRNAs (rasiRNAs), are a class of important epigenetic molecules. We aimed to gain insights into the changes and roles of sncRNA in chondrocyte senescence. Design: Healthy mouse postnatal chondrocytes were isolated, and a replicative aging model was constructed. We used small RNA sequencing (small RNA-seq) to generate extensive small RNA data. We identified differentially expressed sncRNAs and performed tissue-specific analysis using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). β-galactosidase staining was used to detect chondrocyte senescence. The