Elevated miR-183-5p Impairs Bone-Forming Stem Cells in Scoliosis

A new study published in BMC Medical Genomics reports that a small regulatory RNA molecule, microRNA-183-5p, is present at elevated levels in the blood of patients with the condition and appears to interfere with the bone-forming activity of skeletal stem cells in laboratory experiments.

The research team, led by Kainan Lin and Jianfeng Wang, set out to determine whether miR-183-5p could serve as a diagnostic marker for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and to begin mapping how the molecule might act.

To measure circulating levels of the microRNA, the researchers used reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction on serum samples from patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. They then constructed receiver operating characteristic curves, a standard statistical method for judging how well a biomarker separates affected individuals from unaffected ones, and found that the upregulated miR-183-5p showed good diagnostic value in this cohort.

The second part of the study moved into the laboratory. The team cultured human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, the progenitor cells that give rise to bone-forming osteoblasts, and induced them to undergo osteogenic differentiation, the process by which stem cells mature into bone-producing cells. When the researchers overexpressed miR-183-5p in these cells, the expression of osteogenic differentiation markers dropped and cell viability declined, indicating that the microRNA suppresses both bone-cell maturation and proliferation.

Cell proliferation was assessed with a cell counting kit-8 assay, a colorimetric test that estimates the number of living cells, while cell death was measured by flow cytometry. Together these assays showed that forcing miR-183-5p expression reduced the growth of the stem cells as they attempted to differentiate toward bone.

To identify what the microRNA might be targeting, the team used online prediction databases and then validated the candidate experimentally. A dual-luciferase reporter gene assay, in which the predicted target sequence is fused to a light-producing enzyme to test direct binding, confirmed the interaction, and Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed a negative relationship between miR-183-5p and GNG12 levels: as the microRNA rose, the target gene fell.

The most striking result came from a rescue experiment. When the researchers upregulated GNG12 in the stem cells, this reversed the inhibitory effect that elevated miR-183-5p had imposed on the cells. That restoration suggests the microRNA acts through this single regulatory axis, suppressing bone formation and cell proliferation by negatively regulating GNG12.

The authors conclude that overexpressed miR-183-5p has diagnostic potential for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and that the miR-183-5p–GNG12 axis may be associated with the pathogenesis of the condition.

The findings come with important caveats. The diagnostic performance was evaluated in the study’s own patient cohort, and the mechanistic work was carried out in cultured cells rather than in living patients, so the results establish associations and cell-level effects rather than proof of how scoliosis develops in the body. The study is also an early exploration of regulatory mechanisms, as the authors describe it, rather than a definitive account of the disease process.

Subject of Research: The role of the microRNA miR-183-5p as a diagnostic biomarker and regulator of osteogenic differentiation in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Article Title: The upregulated miR-183-5p inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Article References: Lin, K., Wang, X., Chen, Z., Chen, H., Xu, W., & Wang, J. (2026). The upregulated miR-183-5p inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. BMC Medical Genomics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12920-026-02497-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12920-026-02497-1

Keywords: adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, miR-183-5p, microRNA, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, osteogenic differentiation, GNG12, biomarker, RT-qPCR, dual-luciferase reporter assay, gene regulation, spinal deformity, upregulated