Effect of lincRNA-EPS/miR-24-3p/BMP2 signal axis on enamel development: An experimental study in vitro

[Objective:] To investigate the effect of long intergenic non-coding RNA-EPS (lincRNA-EPS)/ microRNA (miRNA)-24-3p/ bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) signal axis on enamel development in vitro. [Methods:] The overexpressed plasmid of lincRNA-EPS and miR-24-3p mimics were transfected into LS8 cells and their transfection efficiency was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). RT-qPCR was used to detect the relative mRNA expression of amelogenesis-related genes (AMELX, AMBN, AMTN, MMP20) and BMP2 after transfection. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of BMP2 after transfection. Independent sample t test was used for quantitative comparison between groups. [Results:] Fluorescence images under microscope and RT-qPCR results showed that lincRNA-EPS overexpression plasmid and miR-24-3p mimics were transfected successfully. The relative mRNA expression of amelogenesis-related genes and BMP2 as well as the protein expression of BMP2 were significantly increased after transfection with lincRNA-EPS overexpression plasmid, while the relative mRNA expression of amelogenesis-related genes and BMP2 as well as the protein expression of BMP2 were significantly decreased after transfection with miR-24-3p mimics. To a certain extent, lincRNA-EPS can inhibit the regulatory effect of miR-24-3p on BMP2, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). [Conclusion:] Enamel development is regulated by lincRNA-EPS/miR-24-3p/BMP2 signal axis, and lincRNA-EPS can affect the inhibition of miR-24-3p on downstream BMP2 expression, thus promoting enamel development.