Abstract: Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by degeneration of articular cartilage, limited intra-articular inflammation with synovitis, and changes in peri-articular and subchondral bone. Cell death with molecular features of apoptosis has been detected in OA cartilage, which suggests a key role for chondrocyte death in the pathogenesis of OA. So the regulation of the differentiation of cartilage plays a crucial role in the blocking development of OA. MiR-140 is specifically expressed in cartilage. More and more evidence demonstrated that miR-140 plays important roles in the molecular mechanisms in chondrogenic differentiation as well as OA by suppressing gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. The study of the miR-140 will provide new insights into the mechanism of OA and potential novel targets in the treatment of OA.

Key words: miR-140, osteoarthritis, chondrocytes