Long non-coding RNA-DANCR in human circulating monocytes: a potential biomarker associated with postmenopausal osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a common disease characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and low trauma fractures, mainly resulting from exceeding bone resorption by osteoclasts over bone formation by osteoblasts. Circulating monocytes are directly involved in osteoclastogenesis, and lncRNAs are believed to be involved in the osteoblast differentiation. However, no study has been conducted to identify the roles of lncRNA in circulating monocytes associated with human osteoporosis. In this study, we found significant upregulation of DANCR in the blood mononuclear cells (MNCs) from low-BMD patients with the qRT-PCR analyses. We further found that DANCR promoted the expression of IL6 and TNF-alpha at both mRNA level and protein level in MNCs. After deletion of DANCR with siRNAs, the levels of IL6 and TNF-alpha are decreased in the MNCs from low-BMD postmenopausal women. Moreover, DANCR level was correlated with IL6 and TNF-alpha in postmenopausal women with low BMD. Furthermore, we found that DANCR-induced IL6 and TNF-alpha in MNCs had bone-resorbing activity. These results indicate that DANCR is involved in the pathology of osteoporosis and may be as a biomarker for postmenopausal osteoporosis.