Circular RNA circ_0011269 sponges miR-122 to regulate RUNX2 expression and promotes osteoporosis progression.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel class of noncoding RNAs that are widely expressed in human disease. However, circRNAs expression profile and potential mechanism in osteoporosis pathogenesis remain to be further studied. In the present study, a total of 69 circRNAs were identified to be abnormally expressed in osteoporosis patient samples by microarray and bioinformatics analyses. We found that circ_0011269 was notably downregulated in osteoporosis (fold change, 3.94). By means of miRanda algorithm, we constructed the interaction network of circ_0011269-miRNAs in osteoporosis based on target binding and miR-122 was enrolled in the network. Dual-luciferase reporter assay verified the target relationship of miR-122 and circ_0011269/RUNX2. The expression of circ_0011269 and RUNX2 were gradually increased during osteogenic differentiation while miR-122 exhibited a decreased expression. Moreover, overexpression of circ_0011269 could promote RUNX2 expression and inhibit osteoporosis. In summary, this study found that circ_0011269 sponges miR-122 to regulate RUNX2 expression and promotes osteoporosis progression.