No description available.

No description available.

Osteoactivin (OA) is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein initially identified in bone in 2002. The protein is synthesized, processed and heavily glycosylated by osteoblasts. Its expression is associated with increased osteoblast differentiation and matrix mineralization. To determine the role of OA in skeletal homeostasis in vivo. we utilized a mouse model with a natural mutation in the osteoactivin gene. This mutation is due to a premature stop codon, which results in the generation of a truncated 150 amino acid OA protein. This animal, which we will refer to as OA mutant, was shown by ìCT and histomorphometric analysis to have increased bone volume, trabecular thickness, and trabecular number compared to wild-type (WT) mice at 4 weeks of age, which is a time at which bone formation is most active. Histological analysis of long bones stained with TRAP (tartrate resistant acid phosphatase) and colorimetric analysis of serum TRAP 5b levels indicated that the numbers of osteoclasts are significantly increased in OA mutant samples. Interestingly, although the numbers of osteoclasts as compared to WT were higher in OA mutant mice, serum levels of C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX) and osteocalcin, biomarkers for bone resorption and bone formation respectively, were significantly decreased. These data suggested that in mice the presence of truncated OA protein results in increased osteoclast number, but that they are inefficient in resorbing bone and may in part contribute to the increase in bone volume in OA mutant mice in vivo. To further investigate the role of OA in osteoclast differentiation, osteoclasts were differentiated from hematopoietic stem cell progenitors ex vivo. HSCs were cultured in the presence of 50 ng/ml of M-CSF for two days and then with M-CSF and 100 ng/ml of RANKL in the presence or absence of 50 ng/ml recombinant OA. We observed a dramatic increase in multinucleated TRAP-positive osteoclasts and the number of nuclei per osteoclast in OA-treated cultures compared to control. Additionally, analysis of HSCs showed increased cell proliferation in response to exogenous OA treatment. When osteoclasts were differentiated in ex vivo cultures derived from OA mutant and WT mice, we observed decreased osteoclast number, size, and function in OA mutant compared to WT cultures. This decrease was abrogated when cultures were treated exogenously with recombinant OA. Quantitative PCR analysis of RNA isolated during osteoclast differentiation from WT and OA mutant mice reveal decreased gene expression of critical osteoclast differentiation and functional markers, which explains the osteoclast defect observed ex vivo. To investigate the role of OA in osteoblast differentiation, primary osteoblasts were derived from mesenchymal progenitors isolated from calvariae of WT and OA mutant neonatal pups. OA mutant osteoblasts were found to have decreased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and activity at day 14 in culture. Furthermore when cultures were differentiated to 21 days to simulate matrix mineralization in vitro, OA mutant osteoblasts exhibited decreased Alizarin Red and Von Kossa staining. Quantitative measurement of calcium also showed decreased mineral deposition in OA mutant mice compared to WT. Electron microscopic and protein studies were able to eliminate the notion of ER stress or cell toxicity as a result of ER stress playing a role in the delayed osteoblast differentiation observed in OA mutant osteoblasts. Furthermore, OA mutant osteoblasts exhibited decreased proliferation and survival ex vivo. These data reveal an effect of osteoactivin in osteoblasts ex vivo. This study provided an in vivo tool to study the role of osteoactivin in bone cells and the regulation of bone formation and bone resorption by this molecule. Taken together, these findings suggest that the presence of truncated OA leads to increased bone volume due to defective interplay between bone-resorbing osteoclasts and bone-forming osteoblasts. Data presented here support the notion of osteoactivin as a novel molecule in modulating skeletal homeostasis in vivo. / Cell Biology

Das globale Phänomen Übergewicht erhöht das Risiko für die Entwicklung von Diabetes, Atherosklerose und Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen. Diese sind assoziiert mit der Expression des Transmembranproteins Glycoprotein nonmetastatic melanoma protein b (Gpnmb), das von Makrophagen und dendritischen Zellen exprimiert wird. Wir haben die Rolle von Gpnmb in genetisch- und diät-induzierter Atherosklerose sowie in diät-induzierter Adipositas in Gpnmb-Knockout- und Wildtyp-Mäusen untersucht. Körpergewicht und Blutfette wurden in beiden Erkrankungen nicht von Gpnmb beeinflusst. Gpnmb wurde in Makrophagen von atherosklerotischen Läsionen stark exprimiert, jedoch hatte das Fehlen von Gpnmb keinen Einfluss auf die Größe der Aortenläsion. In Übergewicht konnten wir dagegen einen größeren Effekt von Gpnmb detektieren. Gpnmb hatte einen positiven Einfluss auf den Insulin- und Glukoseplasmaspiegel sowie auf die Leberfibrose bei adipösen Mäusen. Gpnmb-Knockout-Tiere besaßen mehr Makrophagen im epididymalen Fettgewebe. Da Gpnmb in den entsprechenden Makrophagen von Wildtyp-Mäusen stark exprimiert wurde, könnte Gpnmb eine abschwächende Rolle auf Entzündungen des Fettgewebes haben. Dies wird durch in-vitro-Daten bestätigt, wo Gpnmb hauptsächlich in reparativen, TGFβ-stimulierten Makrophagen exprimiert wurde. Diese Expression führte jedoch nur zu einer leichten entzündungshemmenden Wirkung. Eine weitere Aufgabe von Makrophagen, die Autophagie, wurde durch Gpnmb nicht beeinflusst. Dies ist überraschend, da die Expression, die Freisetzung und der Abbau von Gpnmb durch Bafilomycin, einem Inhibitor des letzten Schritts der Autophagie, auf einzigartige Weise erhöht wurde. Zusammenfassend ist die Gpnmb-Expression in voll ausgereiften Makrophagen stark induziert und kann durch lysosomale Hemmung weiter gesteigert werden. Bei Adipositas verhindert Gpnmb die Entwicklung einer Insulinresistenz, möglicherweise durch Dämpfung der Entzündung des Fettgewebes. / Obesity, an emerging global phenomenon, increases the risk for the development of diabetes, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. Those metabolic diseases have been associated with the expression of glycoprotein nonmetastatic melanoma protein b (Gpnmb), a transmembrane protein that is expressed by macrophages and dendritic cells. We studied the role of Gpnmb in genetically- and diet-induced atherosclerosis as well as diet-induced obesity in Gpnmb-knockout and respective wildtype control mice. The absence of Gpnmb did not affect body weight and blood lipid parameters in both diseases. Whereas Gpnmb was strongly expressed in atherosclerotic lesion-associated macrophages, the absence of Gpnmb did not influence the development of aortic lesion size. On the other hand, the absence of Gpnmb elicited stronger effects in obesity. We observed a positive influence of Gpnmb on insulin and glucose plasma levels as well as liver fibrosis in obese mice. Moreover, Gpnmb-knockout animals contained more macrophages in epididymal adipose tissue. Gpnmb was strongly expressed in adipose tissue macrophages in wildtype mice, suggesting an alleviating role of Gpnmb on adipose tissue inflammation. This was corroborated by in vitro data where Gpnmb was mostly expressed in reparative macrophages stimulated with transforming growth factor β (TGFβ). However, this expression resulted only in a mild anti-inflammatory effect. Another important macrophage feature, autophagy, was not influenced by Gpnmb. This is surprising as Gpnmb expression, shedding and degradation was uniquely increased by bafilomycin, an inhibitor of the last step of autophagy. Taken together, Gpnmb expression is strongly induced in fully mature macrophages and can be further increased due to lysosomal inhibition. In obesity, Gpnmb prevents the development of insulin resistance possibly by dampening adipose tissue inflammation.

No description available.

Osteoactivin (OA) is a glycoprotein required for the differentiation of osteoblasts. In osteoblasts, Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 (BMP-2) activated Smad1 signaling enhances OA expression. However, the transcriptional regulation of OA gene expression by BMP-2 is still unknown. The aim of this study was to characterize BMP-2-induced transcription factors that regulate OA gene expression during osteoblast differentiation. The stimulatory effects of BMP-2 on OA transcription were established by cloning the proximal 0.96kb of rat OA promoter region in a luciferase reporter vector in various osteogenic cell types. Further, by deletion and mutagenesis analyses of the cloned OA promoter, key binding sites for osteogenic transcription factors namely, Runx2, Smad1, Smad4 and homeodomain proteins (Dlx3, Dlx5 and Msx2) were identified and characterized. Utilizing specific siRNAs to knock down Runx2, Smad1, Smad4, Dlx3, Dlx5 or Msx2 proteins in osteoblasts, we found that Runx2, Smad1, Smad4, Dlx3 and Dlx5 proteins up-regulate OA transcription, whereas, Msx2 down-regulated OA gene expression. These specific effects of transcription factors on OA promoter regulation were confirmed by forced expression of transcription factors. Most notably, BMP-2-stimulated cooperative and synergistic interactions between Runx2-Smad1 proteins and Dlx3-Dlx5 proteins that up-regulate OA promoter activity. Electrophoretic mobility shift and supershift assays demonstrated that BMP-2 stimulates interactions between Runx2, Smad1 and Smad4 and homeodomain transcription factors with the OA promoter regions flanking the -585 Runx2 binding site, the -248 Smad binding site and the region between the -852 and the -843 homeodomain binding sites relative to transcription start site. The OA promoter region was occupied by Runx2 and also Dlx3 transcription factors during proliferation stages of osteoblast differentiation. As the osteoblasts progress from proliferation to matrix maturation stages of differentiation, the OA promoter was predominantly occupied by Runx2 and to a lesser extent Dlx5 in response to BMP-2. Finally, during matrix mineralization stages of osteoblast differentiation, BMP-2-induced a robust recruitment of Dlx5, Smad1, Dlx3 and Msx2 proteins with simultaneous dissociation of Runx2 from the OA promoter region. In conclusion, the BMP-2-induced osteogenic transcription factors Runx2, Smad1, Smad4, Dlx3, Dlx5 and Msx2 provide key molecular switches that regulate OA transcription during osteoblast differentiation. / Cell Biology

Abstract Heart failure (HF) and aortic valve stenosis (AS) are complex disorders affected by functional alterations and actively regulated remodelling of the heart and the aortic valve, respectively. In addition to structural proteins, such as collagens and elastin, the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the heart and the aortic valve comprises non-collagenous factors that are not strictly involved in the architecture but may modulate cardiac and valvular remodelling. In the present study the expression of non-collagenous fibrosis- and calcification-related ECM proteins was investigated in HF-associated cardiac remodelling from different origins as well as in fibrocalcific aortic valve disease leading to AS. The experimental models of pressure overload, myocardial infarction (MI) and chronic renal failure were used to study the cardiac expression of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2, BMP-4, bone sialoprotein, matrix Gla protein (MGP), osteoactivin, osteopontin, periostin and/or pleiotrophin in vivo in cardiac remodelling. Human aortic valves, obtained from patients undergoing valve replacement, were studied to characterize the valvular expression of BMP-2, BMP-4, bone sialoprotein, MGP, osteoactivin, osteopontin, osteoprotegerin, periostin, pleiotrophin, and thrombospondins (TSPs) 1-4 in the different stages of fibrocalcific aortic valve disease. Left ventricular (LV) MGP expression was upregulated in vivo in non-uremic cardiac remodelling. In vitro results indicate that angiotensin II elevates MGP expression in cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts. Periostin gene expression was induced in cardiac but not in aortic valve remodelling and the cardiac induction in chronic renal insufficiency was associated with LV hypertrophy and blood pressure as well as the cardiac gene expression of other fibrosis-related genes. Bone sialoprotein and osteopontin were expressed in the aortic valves in parallel with calcification, and also in distinct models of cardiac remodelling. Osteoprotegerin protein expression in stenotic valves was weak regardless of a simultaneous increase in gene expression. BMPs were downregulated in AS and no change in LV gene expression was detected in uremic cardiac remodelling. All the studied TSPs were expressed in human aortic valves, and especially the expression of TSP-2 was shown to increase in fibrocalcific aortic valves simultaneously with decreased activation of the Akt/nuclear factor (NF)-κB-pathway. This study delineates distinct expression patterns of non-collagenous ECM proteins in pathological tissue remodelling in the heart and in the aortic valve, and thus emphasizes the role of ECM proteins as an important modulator of cardiac and aortic valve remodelling. / Tiivistelmä Sydämen vajaatoiminnan ja aorttastenoosin taudinkuvaan kuuluvat toiminnallisten muutosten ohella aktiivisesti säädellyt soluväliaineen muutokset sydämen ja aorttaläpän rakenteessa. Soluväliaineen rakenteen muodostavien kollageenien ja elastiinin lisäksi soluväliaineessa on rakenteeseen kuulumattomia proteiineja. Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkittiin sidekudoksen kertymiseen ja kudosten kalkkiutumiseen osallistuvia soluväliaineen proteiineja sydämen vajaatoiminnassa sekä aorttastenoosiin johtavassa kalkkiuttavassa aorttaläppäviassa. Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin sydämen soluväliaineen proteiinien ilmentymistä painekuormituksen, sydäninfarktin ja pitkäaikaisen munuaisten vajaatoiminnan koemalleissa rotalla. Tutkittavia proteiineja olivat luun morfogeneettiset proteiinit 2 ja 4, luun sialoproteiini, matriksin Gla proteiini (MGP), osteoaktiviini, osteopontiini, periostiini ja pleiotropiini. Edellä mainittujen proteiinien lisäksi osteoprotegeriinin ja trombospondiinien 1-4 ilmentymistä tutkittiin kalkkiuttavan aorttaläppävian eri kehitysvaiheissa. Aorttaläpät oli kerätty tekoläppäleikkauspotilailta. Sydämessä MGP:n ilmentyminen lisääntyi kaikissa muissa paitsi munuaisten vajaatoiminnan koemallissa. Angiotensiini II nosti MGP:n ilmentymistä sydänlihassoluissa ja sidekudossoluissa. Periostiinin ilmentyminen lisääntyi sydämen uudelleenmuovautumisessa, muttei aorttaläppäviassa. Lisäksi munuaisten vajaatoiminnan aiheuttama periostiinin ilmentymisen muutos sydämessä liittyi sekä sydämen kasvuun, verenpaineen nousuun että muiden sidekudosta muokkaavien proteiinien ilmentymiseen. Luun sialoproteiinin ja osteopontiinin ilmentymiset erosivat toisistaan erilaisissa sydämen vajaatoiminnan malleissa, mutta aorttaläpissä niiden molempien ilmentyminen oli suhteessa läpän kalkkiutumiseen. Osteoprotegeriinin geenin ilmentyminen lisääntyi kalkkiutuneissa aorttaläpissä vaikkakin proteiinin määrä pysyi vähäisenä. Luun morfogeneettisten proteiinien ilmentyminen oli alentunut sairaissa läpissä, muttei sydämessä munuaisten vajaatoiminnan aikana. Aorttaläpissä ilmennettiin kaikkia trombospondiineita, joista trombospondiini-2:n ilmentyminen kasvoi sairaissa aorttaläpissä. Kalkkiutuneissa läpissä solunsisäinen Akt/NF-κB–signaalinvälitysjärjestelmä oli vaimentunut. Tutkimus osoittaa, että soluväliaineen proteiinien ilmentymistä säädellään eri tavoin sydämen vajaatoiminnassa ja aorttastenoosissa kudoksen uudelleenmuovautumisprosessin aikana.