Osteocyte-derived extracellular vesicles mediate the bone-to-cartilage crosstalk and promote osteoarthritis progression

Abstract Osteoarthritis is a common degenerative joint disease, in which mechanical overloading disrupts subchondral bone remodeling before cartilage degeneration and the osteocytes in the subchondral bone are mainly responsible for mechanosensing. However, their functional role in the early osteoar...

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Main Authors: Na Liu, Yuze Ma, Wang Gong, Xiaoyan Shao, Tianshu Shi, Lan Li, Wenshu Wu, Xiang Chen, Yong Shi, Pan Zhang, Jiaquan Lin, Chengzhi Wang, Depeng Fang, Lin Yang, Pu Wang, Wentian Gao, Yi He, Xueying An, Rui Du, Ying Chen, Bin Liu, Jianghui Qin, Dongyang Chen, Pingqiang Cai, Qing Jiang, Baosheng Guo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-05-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59861-5
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author Na Liu
Yuze Ma
Wang Gong
Xiaoyan Shao
Tianshu Shi
Lan Li
Wenshu Wu
Xiang Chen
Yong Shi
Pan Zhang
Jiaquan Lin
Chengzhi Wang
Depeng Fang
Lin Yang
Pu Wang
Wentian Gao
Yi He
Xueying An
Rui Du
Ying Chen
Bin Liu
Jianghui Qin
Dongyang Chen
Pingqiang Cai
Qing Jiang
Baosheng Guo
author_facet Na Liu
Yuze Ma
Wang Gong
Xiaoyan Shao
Tianshu Shi
Lan Li
Wenshu Wu
Xiang Chen
Yong Shi
Pan Zhang
Jiaquan Lin
Chengzhi Wang
Depeng Fang
Lin Yang
Pu Wang
Wentian Gao
Yi He
Xueying An
Rui Du
Ying Chen
Bin Liu
Jianghui Qin
Dongyang Chen
Pingqiang Cai
Qing Jiang
Baosheng Guo
author_sort Na Liu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Osteoarthritis is a common degenerative joint disease, in which mechanical overloading disrupts subchondral bone remodeling before cartilage degeneration and the osteocytes in the subchondral bone are mainly responsible for mechanosensing. However, their functional role in the early osteoarthritis is still unclear. Here we show that mechanical stress induces osteocytes in subchondral bone to secrete extracellular vesicles that accelerate cartilage metabolic dysregulation in patients with both sexes and male mice. The miR-23b-3p in extracellular vesicles promotes cartilage catabolism and inhibits anabolism by targeting OTUD4, disrupting mitophagy in chondrocytes. Inhibiting miR-23b-3p in osteocytes or chondrocytes reduces cartilage degeneration and osteoarthritis progression in male mice. Together, our findings highlight that osteocyte-derived extracellular vesicles mediate communication with chondrocytes and suggest miR-23b-3p as a potential therapeutic target for osteoarthritis.
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record_format Article
series Nature Communications
spelling doaj-art-33d25d16d3eb4203bb3a842abdec35022025-08-20T03:08:43ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-05-0116112210.1038/s41467-025-59861-5Osteocyte-derived extracellular vesicles mediate the bone-to-cartilage crosstalk and promote osteoarthritis progressionNa Liu0Yuze Ma1Wang Gong2Xiaoyan Shao3Tianshu Shi4Lan Li5Wenshu Wu6Xiang Chen7Yong Shi8Pan Zhang9Jiaquan Lin10Chengzhi Wang11Depeng Fang12Lin Yang13Pu Wang14Wentian Gao15Yi He16Xueying An17Rui Du18Ying Chen19Bin Liu20Jianghui Qin21Dongyang Chen22Pingqiang Cai23Qing Jiang24Baosheng Guo25State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityBranch of National Clinical Research Center for Orthopedics, Sports Medicine and RehabilitationState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityState Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Division of Sports Medicine and Adult Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing UniversityAbstract Osteoarthritis is a common degenerative joint disease, in which mechanical overloading disrupts subchondral bone remodeling before cartilage degeneration and the osteocytes in the subchondral bone are mainly responsible for mechanosensing. However, their functional role in the early osteoarthritis is still unclear. Here we show that mechanical stress induces osteocytes in subchondral bone to secrete extracellular vesicles that accelerate cartilage metabolic dysregulation in patients with both sexes and male mice. The miR-23b-3p in extracellular vesicles promotes cartilage catabolism and inhibits anabolism by targeting OTUD4, disrupting mitophagy in chondrocytes. Inhibiting miR-23b-3p in osteocytes or chondrocytes reduces cartilage degeneration and osteoarthritis progression in male mice. Together, our findings highlight that osteocyte-derived extracellular vesicles mediate communication with chondrocytes and suggest miR-23b-3p as a potential therapeutic target for osteoarthritis.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59861-5
spellingShingle Na Liu
Yuze Ma
Wang Gong
Xiaoyan Shao
Tianshu Shi
Lan Li
Wenshu Wu
Xiang Chen
Yong Shi
Pan Zhang
Jiaquan Lin
Chengzhi Wang
Depeng Fang
Lin Yang
Pu Wang
Wentian Gao
Yi He
Xueying An
Rui Du
Ying Chen
Bin Liu
Jianghui Qin
Dongyang Chen
Pingqiang Cai
Qing Jiang
Baosheng Guo
Osteocyte-derived extracellular vesicles mediate the bone-to-cartilage crosstalk and promote osteoarthritis progression
Nature Communications
title Osteocyte-derived extracellular vesicles mediate the bone-to-cartilage crosstalk and promote osteoarthritis progression
title_full Osteocyte-derived extracellular vesicles mediate the bone-to-cartilage crosstalk and promote osteoarthritis progression
title_fullStr Osteocyte-derived extracellular vesicles mediate the bone-to-cartilage crosstalk and promote osteoarthritis progression
title_full_unstemmed Osteocyte-derived extracellular vesicles mediate the bone-to-cartilage crosstalk and promote osteoarthritis progression
title_short Osteocyte-derived extracellular vesicles mediate the bone-to-cartilage crosstalk and promote osteoarthritis progression
title_sort osteocyte derived extracellular vesicles mediate the bone to cartilage crosstalk and promote osteoarthritis progression
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59861-5
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