LncRNA AWPPH is downregulated in osteoporosis and regulates type I collagen alpha 1 and alpha 2 ratio

Normal ratio of type I collagen alpha 1 to alpha 2 (2:1) maintains normal bone microarchitecture. Altered ratios lead to formation of collagen homotrimers and deteriorated bone microarchitecture. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of lncRNA AWPPH in osteoporosis. We observed that the expression of lncRNA AWPPH was downregulated in osteoporosis patients than that in healthy controls. Downregulated expression of lncRNA AWPPH distinguished osteoporosis patients from healthy controls. In vitro cell experiments showed that knockdown of lncRNA AWPPH led to upregulated al but downregulated expression of alpha 2 in osteoblasts, which made the alpha 1 to alpha 2 ratio higher than 2:1. In contrast, overexpression of lncRNA AWPPH led to downregulated alpha 1 but upregulated alpha 2 in osteoblasts, which made the alpha 1 to alpha 2 ratio lower than 2:1. Therefore, lncRNA AWPPH is downregulated in osteoporosis and altered the expression of lncRNA AWPPH regulates type I collagen alpha 1 and 72 ratio in osteoblasts.