MicroRNA profiling in human cartilage is necessary for chondrogenesis. The study aimed to compare microRNA 127-5p (miR-127-5p) and TGF-β signaling pathway gene expressions of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAT-MSCs) and synovial fluid-derived stem cells (hSF-MSCs) after induced chondrogenesis. MSCs induced into chondrogenic differentiation. Alcian Blue and Safranin O staining were performed to determine chondrogenic differentiation. The RT-qPCR determined the expression levels of miR-127-5p and TGF-β signaling pathway genes. miR-127-5p expression was significantly higher in chondrogenic differentiated hSF-MSCs (dhSF-MSCs) (p < 0.05). TGF-β, SMAD2, and SMAD3 expressions were substantially higher in dhSF-MSCs (all p < 0.001), while SMAD4, and ACAN expressions were downregulated (all p < 0.001). No difference was detected between COL1A2 expression levels. This study suggests that miR-127-5p derived from hSF-MSCs may regulate chondrogenesis, thereby inducing the TGF-β pathway activation, and also presents, for the first time, a comparative analysis of the expression of miR-127-5p and the TGF-β signaling pathway genes of hSF-MSCs and hAT-MSCs concerning differences in chondrogenic potential.
Keywords: Cartilage; Chondrogenesis; Mesenchymal stem cells; TGF-β pathway; microRNA-127-5p.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.