click to enlarge

3D illustration of osteoporotic trabecular bone. Credit: shutterstock

Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a widespread issue globally, but its pathogenesis has remained elusive, due in part to its asymptomatic development. This study by Wang et al. has potentially identified a new biomarker to target patients with ongoing postmenopausal osteoporosis: the circular RNA (circRNA) circ_0134120. It appears that this circRNA may be capable of modulating various micro RNAs (miRNAs) and influencing the body.

Comparative analysis in this study, conducted between patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis and healthy controls, revealed distinct expression patterns: specifically, 20 circRNAs displayed a change in their expression. The major novel finding, however, regards uncovering the potential involvement of circ_0134120 in promoting the occurrence and development of postmenopausal osteoporosis through competitive binding with miR-590-5p, facilitating STAT3 expression, and inhibiting the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells. Without this differentiation, bone remodelling cannot progress normally and osteoporosis develops.

This new finding is particularly exciting because of the potential to target this pathway and ultimately prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis for women globally. However, there appear to be potential links to the development of osteoarthritis and other diseases as well.

Read the full article in Journal of Molecular Endocrinology 73 e230140 https://doi.org/10.1530/JME-23-0140