LncRNA-H19 Promotes Adipogenic Differentiation Disorder by Regulating miR-130b-3p/PPARγ Axis in Steroid-induced Osteonecrosis of Femoral Head

Steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (SONFH) represents a frequent and debilitating orthopedic condition. It is widely believed that the adipogenic/osteogenic differentiation disorder of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) contributes to the development of SONFH. However, the regulatory mechanism of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the differentiation disorder of BMSCs remains elusive. The expression levels of H19 were detected in both femoral head tissues and BMSCs from patients with SONFH. The role of the lncRNA H19 in SONFH was explored through bioinformatics analysis complemented by relevant validation experiments. Our findings revealed that H19 was significantly up-regulated in SONFH tissues as well as BMSCs. Silencing H19 suppressed BMSC adipogenic differentiation in SONFH and the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ). Furthermore, we found that H19 could interact with miR-130b-3p, and miR-130b-3p could directly inhibit PPARγ expression. In conclusion, this study uncovered that abnormally up-regulated H19 leads to abnormal lipogenic differentiation in SONFH by acting as a sponge for miR-130b-3p and upregulating PPARγ.