LncRNA FOXD2-AS1 induces chondrocyte proliferation through sponging miR-27a-3p in osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative joint disease worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been widely confirmed to involve in the modulation of OA progression. However, the underlying mechanisms of lncRNA FOXD2-AS1 in OA remain unclear. In the present study, we showed FOXD2-AS1 expression was upregulated and positively associated with the severity of OA patients. IL-1β and/or TNF-α treatment could increase FOXD2-AS1 expression in chondrocytes. FOXD2-AS1 overexpression induced cell proliferation, inflammation and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation in chondrocytes. Mechanistically, we found that FOXD2-AS1 upregulated the expression level of TLR4 by sponging miR-27a-3p. In addition, we revealed that miR-27a-3p mimics could abolish the effects of FOXD2-AS1 overexpression on cell proliferation, inflammation, and ECM degradation in chondrocytes. Therefore, we demonstrated that FOXD2-AS1 could play a crucial role in the progression of OA, at least partially, by regulating miR-27a-3p/TLR4 axis.