SOX9 promotes proliferation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes in rheumatoid arthritis by inhibiting miR-204/-211

  • YANG Yilei ,
  • LIU Jing ,
  • FAN Kaijian ,
  • WANG Tingyu
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  • 1. Department of Pharmacy, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, China
    2. Department of Pharmacy, Chongming District Mental Health Center, Shanghai 202150, China

Received date: 2024-11-06

  Online published: 2026-01-30

Copyright

, 2025, Copyright reserved © 2025.

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effect of sex determining region Y-box transcription factor 9 (SOX9) on the function of fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by inhibiting micro-ribonucleic acid (miRNA)-204 and -211, and to explore the underlying mechanism. Methods A collagene-induced arthritis (CIA) model was established by type Ⅱ collagen induction. FLS were isolated from the knee joint synovial tissue of CIA mice by digestion with type Ⅳ collagenase. The expression level of Sox9 in FLS was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) was used to inhibit Sox9 expression, and cell proliferation was assessed by CCK-8 assay and 5-ethynyl-2’-deoxyuridine (EdU) staining. Cell senescence was analyzed by senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining, and the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) p16, p21, p53 and miR-204, miR-211 was detected by qPCR. The HDOCK online server (http://hdock.phys.hust.edu.cn/) was used to analyze the binding potential between miR-204/miR-211 and SOX9. Results Compared with FLS from normal mice, the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) level of SOX9 was significantly increased in CIA-FLS. Knock down of Sox9 can promote cell senescence, thereby inhibiting FLS proliferation. Both miR-204 and miR-211 could stably bind to SOX9. Knockdown of Sox9 in CIA-FLS can increase the expression of miR-204/-211. Conclusions SOX9 can promote the proliferation of CIA-FLS and inhibit their senescence by down-regulating the expression of miR-204 and miR-211.

Cite this article

YANG Yilei , LIU Jing , FAN Kaijian , WANG Tingyu . SOX9 promotes proliferation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes in rheumatoid arthritis by inhibiting miR-204/-211[J]. Journal of Internal Medicine Concepts & Practice, 2026 , 20(06) : 449 -456 . DOI: 10.16138/j.1673-6087.2025.06.04

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