Microarray analysis of gene expression in osteoblasts from patients with osteoporosis (OP) and osteoarthritis (OA) showed that 115 genes were robustly differentially expressed (P<0.05). Functional annotation clustering revealed cell adhesion to be the gene ontology classification most likely to be associated with this gene list. In addition scrutiny of the list revealed several genes with strong biological support for the involvement in bone homeostasis (FOSL1, BMPR2 and TGFBR1). Real -time PCR validated the trends seen in the microarray analysis, but failed to reach statistical significance for any of the genes examined. This analysis supports the value and potential of larger scale comparison of gene expression in OA and OP osteoblasts as a method for identifying novel factors involved in bone homeostasis. The cannabinoid system has recently been identified as involved in the regulation of bone homeostasis. In vitro investigation revealed that although cannnabinoid receptor agonists N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and JWH015 had no effect on metabolic activity, cell number, or alkaline phosphatase activity of calvarial mouse osteoblasts there were changes in gene expression. RankL expression was reduced relative to Opg expression by both JWH015 and AEA. Preliminary results indicate that JWH015 was also capable of increasing PPARĪ³ expression which could alter the balance of osteoblastic and adipocytic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). This could have implications for use of these drugs in vivo. Using the 3T3-F442A cell line to develop a model of MSC differentiation highlighted difficulties associated with using cell models. Necessary additional factors required to induce differentiation of a cell line compared to a primary cell make interpretation of results more complicated. This model also highlighted that alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin (markers usually used to identify osteogenic differentiation) were expressed during adipocytic differentiation. Future use of such markers in MSC models should be closely scrutinized.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:521151 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Allstaff, Alison Jane |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=128211 |
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