MicroRNA-22 contributes to dexamethasone-induced osteoblast differentiation inhibition and dysfunction through targeting caveolin-3 expression in osteoblastic cells

Osteoporosis is a common complication of long-term use of glucocorticoids (GCs) characterized by the loss of bone mass and damage of the microarchitecture as well as osteoblast dysfunction. Previous studies have demonstrated that microRNA-22 (miR-22) is the negative modulator of osteogenesis that may target caveolin-3 (CAV3), which has been reported to enhance bone formation and inhibit the progression of osteoporosis as well as apoptosis. The present study aimed to investigate whether miR-22 may be involved in dexamethasone (DEX)-induced inhibition of osteoblast differentiation and dysfunction by regulating CAV3 expression. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed to measure the expression of miR-22 and western blotting was performed to determine protein levels. The results demonstrated that miR-22 expression was upregulated in DEX-treated osteoblastic cells compared with the control group. In addition, miR-22 mimic aggravated, whereas miR-22 inhibitor mitigated DEX-induced damage in osteoblastic cells compared with the control groups. Additionally, CAV3 was identified as the target of miR-22 in osteoblasts using RT-qPCR, western blotting and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay analysis. The results also demonstrated that silencing of CAV3 blocked the beneficial effects of miR-22 inhibitor against DEX-induced cell damage and apoptosis in osteoblasts, as evidenced by the increased expression levels of cleaved caspase-3, Bax and alkaline phosphatase activity as well as decreased cell viability and Bcl-2 levels. Collectively, these results indicate a novel molecular mechanism by which miR-22 contributes to DEX-induced osteoblast dysfunction and apoptosis via the miR-22/CAV3 pathway.