Development of the novel therapy for rheumatoid arthritis by microRNA.

我们研究了microRNA-124前体作为治疗类风湿性关节炎的有效药物的可能性。我们使用了小鼠胶原性关节炎(CIA)模型。我们发现静脉注射miR-124前体抑制了小鼠的CIA，表现为减少了骨破坏。此外，我们还发现miR-124通过直接抑制破骨细胞分化的关键转录因子NFATc1的表达来抑制破骨细胞的分化。

We investigated the possibility of microRNA-124 precursor as a useful therapeutic drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. We used the mouse collagen induced arthritis (CIA) model. We found that intravenous injection of miR-124 precursor suppressed mouse CIA demonstrated by reduction of bone destruction. Moreover, we found that miR-124 suppressed the osteoclast differentiation by directly inhibiting the expression of NFATc1 which is the critical transcription factor for osteoclast differentiation.In conclusion, we propose that miR-124a is a future candidate of therapeutic agent for human rheumatoid arthritis.