MiR-29a and Messenger RNA Expression of Bone Turnover Markers in Canonical Wnt Pathway in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Abstract Recent studies showed that the canonical Wnt pathway and miR-29a play important roles in the pathogenesis of bone formation. We studied the levels of miR-29a and messenger RNA (mRNA) of bone turnover markers in the canonical Wnt pathway in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The levels of miR-29a and mRNA of bone turnover markers in canonical Wnt pathway from peripheral blood mononuclear cells were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction in 38 patients with AS and 32 healthy controls. Correlation analysis was conducted between the levels of miR-29a and mRNA and clinical measurements using Spearman's correlation test. Compared to healthy controls, the levels of miR-29a, Dickkopf (DKK)-1, β-catenin and Runx2 mRNA were significantly higher in AS patients (p 0.05). Only DKK-1 mRNA expression was negatively correlated with disease course (p 0.05). The osteoblastic marker miR-29a and downstream mRNA of canonical Wnt signaling was upregulated in AS, suggesting their possible role in new bone formation in AS.