Abstract: Objective To investigate the functional role of the miR-92b-3p in osteogenesis of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs). Methods The expression level of miR-92b-3p after transfection of synthetic miR-92b-3p mimic was confirmed by qRT-PCR. The transfected hUCMSCs were induced to osteoblast differentiation. Alizarin red S staining was used to determine osteogenic ability of different transfected cells. qRT-PCR was used to analyze the osteogenic marker gene expressions. Using bioinformatics analysis to predict the potential target of miR-92b-3p, and the dual luciferase report gene system and Western blot to verify the predication. Results The expression of miR-92b-3p in the process of osteodifferentiation was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.01). Overexpressed miR-92b-3p could promote hUCMSCs osteogenetic ability. While inhibiting miR-92b-3p could reduce the osteogenetic differentiation level of hUCMSCs. Overexpressed miR-92b-3p could significantly reduce the expression of DKK1, while inhibition of miR-92b-3p could significantly improve the expression of DKK1. Conclusion: MiR-92b-3p can promote the osteogenesis of hUCMSCs by downregulating the DKK1.

Key words: miR-92b-3p, hUC-MSCs, Osteo-differentiation, DKK1