METTL3-mediated m6A modification of IGFBP7-OT promotes osteoarthritis progression by regulating the DNMT1/DNMT3a-IGFBP7 axis

Yuting Tang; Fangling Hong; Siyang Ding; Jiashu Yang; Ming Zhang; Yunfei Ma; Que Zheng; Dawei Yang; Yucui Jin; Changyan Ma

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112589

METTL3-mediated m⁶A modification of IGFBP7-OT promotes osteoarthritis progression by regulating the DNMT1/DNMT3a-IGFBP7 axis

Cell Rep. 2023 Jun 27;42(6):112589. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112589. Epub 2023 Jun 2.

Authors

Yuting Tang¹, Fangling Hong¹, Siyang Ding², Jiashu Yang², Ming Zhang², Yunfei Ma², Que Zheng², Dawei Yang³, Yucui Jin⁴, Changyan Ma⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Genetics, Nanjing Medical University, Longmian Road 101, Nanjing 211166, P.R. China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Xenotransplantation, Nanjing Medical University, Longmian Road 101, Nanjing 211166, P.R. China.
² Department of Medical Genetics, Nanjing Medical University, Longmian Road 101, Nanjing 211166, P.R. China.
³ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing, P.R. China.
⁴ Department of Medical Genetics, Nanjing Medical University, Longmian Road 101, Nanjing 211166, P.R. China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Xenotransplantation, Nanjing Medical University, Longmian Road 101, Nanjing 211166, P.R. China. Electronic address: jyc@njmu.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Medical Genetics, Nanjing Medical University, Longmian Road 101, Nanjing 211166, P.R. China; Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Xenotransplantation, Nanjing Medical University, Longmian Road 101, Nanjing 211166, P.R. China. Electronic address: cyma@njmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37270777
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112589

Abstract

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common degenerative disorder, affecting approximately half of the elderly population. In this study, we find that the expressions of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) IGFBP7-OT and its maternal gene, IGFBP7, are upregulated and positively correlated in osteoarthritic cartilage. Overexpression of IGFBP7-OT significantly inhibits chondrocyte viability, promotes chondrocyte apoptosis, and reduces extracellular matrix components, whereas IGFBP7-OT knockdown has the opposite effects. IGFBP7-OT overexpression promotes cartilage degeneration and markedly aggravates the monosodium iodoacetate-induced OA phenotype in vivo. Further mechanistic research reveals that IGFBP7-OT promotes OA progression by upregulating IGFBP7 expression. Specifically, IGFBP7-OT suppresses the occupancy of DNMT1 and DNMT3a on the IGFBP7 promoter, thereby inhibiting methylation of the IGFBP7 promoter. The upregulation of IGFBP7-OT in OA is partially controlled by METTL3-mediated N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) modification. Collectively, our findings reveal that m⁶A modification of IGFBP7-OT promotes OA progression by regulating the DNMT1/DNMT3a-IGFBP7 axis and provide a potential therapeutical target for OA treatment.

Keywords: CP: Immunology; DNA methylation; IGFBP7; IGFBP7-OT; METTL3; osteoarthritis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aged
Animals
Apoptosis
Cartilage / metabolism
Chondrocytes
DNA Methyltransferase 3A* / metabolism
DNA Modification Methylases* / metabolism
Humans
Methyltransferases / metabolism
Mice
Osteoarthritis* / genetics
RNA, Long Noncoding* / genetics
RNA, Long Noncoding* / metabolism
Up-Regulation / genetics

Substances

DNA Modification Methylases
Methyltransferases
METTL3 protein, human
RNA, Long Noncoding
DNA Methyltransferase 3A
insulin-like growth factor binding protein-related protein 1