MicroRNAs Linked to Increased Cortical Bone Porosity in Postmenopausal Women With History of Fracture

The following article is part of conference coverage from the 2018 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Annual Meeting in Montreal, Canada. Rheumatology Advisor’s staff will be reporting breaking news associated with research conducted by leading experts on bone health. Check back for the latest news from ASBMR 2018 .

MicroRNAs (miRNA), small noncoding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression, have been positively correlated with driving increased cortical bone porosity, according to a study presented at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research 2018 Annual Meeting, held September 28 through October 1, 2018, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Researchers aimed to explore potential pathomechanisms for cortical bone porosity, regarded as a key determinant of bone fragility underlying fracture risk, by testing the correlation between serum miRNA levels and tibial cortical bone porosity in osteoporosis.

The study used a cohort of postmenopausal women with (n=19) and without (n=17) a history of osteoporotic fractures to measure tibial cortical bone porosity using high resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT).

The participants, with an average age of 61.6 ± 6.3 years and a mean BMI of 25.8 ± 3.9 kg/m², were free of bone-affecting diseases or medications. Serum miRNA levels were quantified by qPCR-arrays for 20 miRNAs that were identified as discriminators of osteoporotic fractures.

The results showed that in postmenopausal women with history of fragility fractures, miRNA expression levels from 4 out of 20 miRNAs were positively correlated with the extent of cortical bone porosity. These included miR-19b-1-5p (P=.013), miR323a-3p (P =.023), miR-32-3p (P =.060), and miR-143-5p (P =.028).

“Our findings suggest for the first time potential pathomechanistic links between miRNAs and cortical porosity,” the study authors wrote.

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Reference

Heilmeier U, Hackl M, Skalicky S, et al. Circulating miRNAs are associated with higher tibial cortical porosity in postmenopausal women with history of osteoporotic fractures. Presented at: ASBMR 2018 Annual Meeting; September 28-October 1, 2018; in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Abstract 1148.