Long noncoding RNA KCNMA1-AS1 promotes osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells by activating the SMAD9 signaling pathway

The human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) undergo intense osteogenic differentiation, a crucial bone formation mechanism. Evidence from prior studies suggested an association between long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs. However, precise roles and molecular mechanisms are still largely unknown. In this work, we report for the first time that lncRNA KCNMA1 antisense RNA 1 (KCNMA1-AS1) plays a vital role in regulating hBMSCs’ osteogenic differentiation. Here, it was observed that the KCNMA1-AS1 expression levels were significantly upregulated during osteogenic differentiation. In addition, KCNMA1-AS1 overexpression enhanced in vitro osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs and in vivo bone formation, whereas knockdown of KCNMA1-AS1 resulted in the opposite result. Additionally, the interaction between KCNMA1-AS1 and mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 9 (SMAD9) was confirmed by an RNA pull-down experiment, mass spectrometry, and RIP assay. This interaction regulated the activation of the SMAD9 signaling pathway. Moreover, rescue assays demonstrated that the inhibitor of the SMAD9 signaling pathway reversed the stimulative effects on osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs by KCNMA1-AS1 overexpression. Altogether, our results stipulate that KCNMA1-AS1 promotes osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs via activating the SMAD9 signaling pathway and can serve as a biomarker and therapeutic target in treating bone defects. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13062-023-00425-2.