Fig. 3

Confirmed miRNA targets possibly involved in HO formation. miR-148a targets ACVR1 coding mRNA that results in a decrease in ACVR1 expression. ACVR1 is one of the BMPRs that acts as receptors for BMP. BMP binding to BMPRs results in activation of SMAD-dependent or SMAD-independent signaling pathways that leads to activation of transcription factors involved in osteogenesis, such as RUNX2 or DLX5. Other pathways potentially involved in HO formation are WNT, NF-κB or the HIF1 pathway. Activation of all these pathways leads to expression of transcription factors, such as RUNX2, DLX5, or OSX, which play a crucial role in bone formation, as well as BMPs. miR-203 is known to be a negative regulator of Runx2 translation, while miR-421 acts as a negative regulator of BMPs translation. The figure was created for this article; it is not based on any previously published image