Department of Sports Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Orthopedics and Traumatology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
Department of Sports Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Orthopedics and Traumatology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, China.
Gene. 2025 Jan 15;933:148897. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2024.148897. Epub 2024 Aug 31.
tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) are novel short noncoding RNAs that play pivotal roles in cell proliferation and survival. However, knowledge of the biological roles of tRFs in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) cells is limited. Here, we intended to investigate the function of tRF-3031B in ACL cell. We used the tRF and tiRNA array to analyze tRF and tiRNA expression profiles in osteoarthritis (OA) ACL cells and normal ACL cells, and qRT-PCR and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were used to determine tRF-3031B expression. The results showed that tRF-3031B was expressed at low levels in OA ACL and Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) treated ACL cells. We found that RELA was the target of tRF-3031B. When ACL cells were transfected with tRF-3031B mimics, RELA expression was suppressed, whereas transfection with tRF-3031B inhibitors had the opposite effect. The rescue and dual-luciferase reporter assays showed that tRF-3031B silenced the RELA expression by binding to its untranslated region (3'-UTR). Hence, this study showed the novel function of tRF-3031B in regulating ACL cell proliferation and survival by targeting RELA, and these findings may offer a new direction for the study of ACL degeneration and pathophysiological of OA.
tRNA 衍生片段（tRFs）是新型的短非编码 RNA，在细胞增殖和存活中发挥关键作用。然而，tRFs 在前交叉韧带（ACL）细胞中的生物学功能知之甚少。在这里，我们旨在研究 tRF-3031B 在 ACL 细胞中的功能。我们使用 tRF 和 tiRNA 阵列分析骨关节炎（OA）ACL 细胞和正常 ACL 细胞中的 tRF 和 tiRNA 表达谱，并使用 qRT-PCR 和荧光原位杂交（FISH）来确定 tRF-3031B 的表达。结果表明，tRF-3031B 在 OA ACL 和白细胞介素-1β（IL-1β）处理的 ACL 细胞中表达水平较低。我们发现 RELA 是 tRF-3031B 的靶标。当 ACL 细胞转染 tRF-3031B 模拟物时，RELA 表达受到抑制，而转染 tRF-3031B 抑制剂则产生相反的效果。挽救和双荧光素酶报告基因检测表明，tRF-3031B 通过结合其非翻译区（3'-UTR）来沉默 RELA 表达。因此，这项研究表明，tRF-3031B 通过靶向 RELA 调节 ACL 细胞增殖和存活的新功能，这些发现可能为 ACL 退变和 OA 病理生理学的研究提供新的方向。
