The role of noncoding RNAs in the osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament-derived cells

Human periodontal ligament-derived cells are important seed cells for periodontal regeneration, and their osteogenic potential closely affects alveolar bone repair and periodontal regeneration. Human periodontal ligament stem cells are pluripotent stem cells of mesenchymal origin, which can differentiate in osteoblasts and cementoblasts. However, the molecular mechanism of this differentiation activity is poorly studied. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) belong to RNAs, which do not encode proteins and represent a large segment of the human transcriptome, mainly including microRNAs (miRNAs), long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs). It was shown that ncRNAs is involved in the proliferation and differentiation of cells, epigenetic modifications, apoptosis, as well as in complex control and pathogenesis of various diseases. NcRNAs are actively involved in the regulation of osteogenic genes in human periodontal ligament-derived cells. This article reviews the research progress of ncRNAs in the regulatory targets, pathways and functions of ncRNAs in the osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament-derived cells.