miR-217-5p regulates myogenesis in skeletal muscle stem cells by targeting FGFR2

MicroRNA-217-5p (miR-217-5p) has been implicated in cell proliferation; however, its role in skeletal muscle stem cells (SkMSCs) remains unknown. The present study aimed to explore the roles of miR-217-5p in the biological characteristics of SkMSCs. SkMSCs were identified by cell surface markers using flow cytometry. The present study observed that miR-217-5p mimics accelerated the proliferation and suppressed the differentiation in SkMSCs. In addition, the results of the present study revealed that fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) was a target of miR-217-5p, as miR-217-5p bound directly to the 3′-untranslated region of FGFR2 mRNA, resulting in increased FGFR2 mRNA and protein levels. In addition, the present study suppressed the expression of FGFR2 in SkMSCs using a selective FGFR inhibitor AZD4547 and detected the efficiency of inhibition by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blotting. miR-217-5p levels were positively associated with FGFR2 expression, which was upregulated and accelerated the proliferation of SkMSCs compared with that of the miR-NC group. Collectively, these results demonstrated that miR-217-5p may act as a myogenesis promoter in SkMSCs by directly targeting FGFR2 and may regulate the myogenesis of these cells.