Downregulation of lncRNA XIST promotes proliferation and differentiation, limits apoptosis of osteoblasts through regulating miR-203-3p/ZFPM2 axis

Background: Bone fracture is a common medical condition. Evidence suggested that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) could regulate the bio-function in osteoblast. In this study, we explored the role and mechanism of lncRNA X-inactive specific transcript (XIST) on the proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation of osteoblasts using MC3T3-E1 cells. Methods: Expression of XIST, microRNA-203-3p (miR-203-3p), and zinc finger protein multitype 2 (ZFPM2) was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Cell viability and apoptosis of MC3T3-E1 cells were measured using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and the flow cytometry. Western blot was used to measure the expression of cell cycle-related proteins, apoptosis-related proteins, and ZFPM2. Levels of differentiation-related factors were measured by qRT-PCR, western blot, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) kit. Target interaction between miR-203-3p and XIST or ZFPM2 was predicted through bioinformatics analysis and verified by dual-luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay, or RNA pull-down assay. Results: The expression of XIST and ZFPM2 was increased while miR-203-3p was decreased in plasmas and MC3T3-E1 cells. Knockdown of XIST promoted the proliferation, differentiation, but limited apoptosis in MC3T3-E1 cells. . Mechanically, overexpression of XIST could reverse the bio-function of miR-203-3p transfection. Additionally, miR-203-3p inverted a series of bio-functional effects of ZFPM2. Furthermore, anti-miR-203-3p rescued si-XIST-induced downregulation of ZFPM2. Conclusion: Downregulation of lncRNA XIST promoted osteoblast proliferation and differentiation, but limited apoptosis by miR-203-3p/ZFPM2 axis.