miR-590-3p mediates melatonin-induced cell apoptosis by targeting septin 7 in the human osteoblast cell line hFOB 1.19

The present study aimed to investigate the association between septin 7 (SEPT7) and melatonin-induced apoptosis in the human fetal osteoblastic cell line hFOB 1.19. MicroRNA (miR)-590-3p was identified by identifying overlapping miRNAs that target SEPT7, across different databases (miRDB, DIANA and Targetscan). Apoptosis was assessed via flow cytometric analysis. Small interfering RNA of SEPT7 and a miR-590-3p inhibitor were used for gene silencing and the efficiency was assessed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Western blotting was used to measure the expression of proteins associated with pathways mediating endoplasmic reticulum stress and melatonin-induced apoptosis. The present study identified that SEPT7 was a potential target of miR-590-3p and demonstrated that SEPT7 is associated with mediating the pro-apoptotic effect of miR-590-3p in human osteoblast cell line hFOB 1.19. High concentrations of melatonin may result in the inhibition of miR-590-3p expression, leading to the upregulation of target genes that promote apoptosis.