scholarly journals Deciphering Myostatin’s Regulatory, Metabolic, and Developmental Influence in Skeletal Diseases

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine L. Omosule ◽  
Charlotte L. Phillips

Current research findings in humans and other mammalian and non-mammalian species support the potent regulatory role of myostatin in the morphology and function of muscle as well as cellular differentiation and metabolism, with real-life implications in agricultural meat production and human disease. Myostatin null mice (mstn−/−) exhibit skeletal muscle fiber hyperplasia and hypertrophy whereas myostatin deficiency in larger mammals like sheep and pigs engender muscle fiber hyperplasia. Myostatin’s impact extends beyond muscles, with alterations in myostatin present in the pathophysiology of myocardial infarctions, inflammation, insulin resistance, diabetes, aging, cancer cachexia, and musculoskeletal disease. In this review, we explore myostatin’s role in skeletal integrity and bone cell biology either due to direct biochemical signaling or indirect mechanisms of mechanotransduction. In vitro, myostatin inhibits osteoblast differentiation and stimulates osteoclast activity in a dose-dependent manner. Mice deficient in myostatin also have decreased osteoclast numbers, increased cortical thickness, cortical tissue mineral density in the tibia, and increased vertebral bone mineral density. Further, we explore the implications of these biochemical and biomechanical influences of myostatin signaling in the pathophysiology of human disorders that involve musculoskeletal degeneration. The pharmacological inhibition of myostatin directly or via decoy receptors has revealed improvements in muscle and bone properties in mouse models of osteogenesis imperfecta, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and diabetes. However, recent disappointing clinical trial outcomes of induced myostatin inhibition in diseases with significant neuromuscular wasting and atrophy reiterate complexity and further need for exploration of the translational application of myostatin inhibition in humans.

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (30) ◽  
pp. 10293-10306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiquan Wang ◽  
Xianling Bian ◽  
Lin Zeng ◽  
Fei Pan ◽  
Lingzhen Liu ◽  
...  

Endolysosomes are key players in cell physiology, including molecular exchange, immunity, and environmental adaptation. They are the molecular targets of some pore-forming aerolysin-like proteins (ALPs) that are widely distributed in animals and plants and are functionally related to bacterial toxin aerolysins. βγ-CAT is a complex of an ALP (BmALP1) and a trefoil factor (BmTFF3) in the firebelly toad (Bombina maxima). It is the first example of a secreted endogenous pore-forming protein that modulates the biochemical properties of endolysosomes by inducing pore formation in these intracellular vesicles. Here, using a large array of biochemical and cell biology methods, we report the identification of BmALP3, a paralog of BmALP1 that lacks membrane pore-forming capacity. We noted that both BmALP3 and BmALP1 contain a conserved cysteine in their C-terminal regions. BmALP3 was readily oxidized to a disulfide bond-linked homodimer, and this homodimer then oxidized BmALP1 via disulfide bond exchange, resulting in the dissociation of βγ-CAT subunits and the elimination of biological activity. Consistent with its behavior in vitro, BmALP3 sensed environmental oxygen tension in vivo, leading to modulation of βγ-CAT activity. Interestingly, we found that this C-terminal cysteine site is well conserved in numerous vertebrate ALPs. These findings uncover the existence of a regulatory ALP (BmALP3) that modulates the activity of an active ALP (BmALP1) in a redox-dependent manner, a property that differs from those of bacterial toxin aerolysins.


2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 494-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Ping-Chung Leung ◽  
Chun-Tao Che ◽  
Hung-Kay Chow ◽  
Chun-Fu Wu ◽  
...  

Fructus Ligustri Lucidi (FLL), a kidney-tonifying Chinese herb, was shown to regulate Ca balance in ovariectomized (OVX) rats in our previous study. This study investigated whether it could improve bone properties in aged normal and OVX rats and increase osteoblastic differentiation in rat osteoblast-like UMR-106 cells. Ten-month-old aged rats underwent sham-operation or ovariectomy, were orally administered with FLL extracts or its vehicle and fed with diets containing different levels of Ca (LCD, 0·1 % Ca; MCD, 0·6 % Ca; HCD, 1·2 % Ca) for 12 weeks. Ovariectomy induced bone loss at multiple-sites of both tibia and femur in all rats being studied. FLL extract increased bone mineral density and bone mineral content at both tibial and femoral diaphysis as well as the lumbar vertebra (LV-2) in rats fed either LCD or MCD. In addition, FLL increased biomechanical strength of the tibial diaphysis in these rats. Combination of FLL and high-Ca diet significantly improved bone mass of cortical and trabecular bone at appendicular bones and LV-2 and decreased bone loss associated with ovarietomy and low-Ca feeding. Treatment of UMR-106 cells with FLL extracts accelerated the formation of calcified matrix and increased extracellular Ca and P depositions in time- and dose-dependent manner. The level of mineralization reached a maximum by 6 d incubation at the dosage of 10 μg FLL extract/ml. Our study indicated that FLL extract could improve bone properties in aged rats possibly via its direct action on osteoblastic cells by enhancement of the mineralization process.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zi-Ping Cheng ◽  
Jie-Yang Liu ◽  
Meng-Yuan Ma ◽  
Shi-Yu Sun ◽  
Zeng-qing Ma ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Many clinical studies have shown a correlation between proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and osteoporosis or fractures. The purposes of this study were to establish a murine model of chronic oral administration of PPIs to verify whether PPIs caused bone metabolic impairment, and to investigate the relevant molecular mechanism underlying the effects of PPIs on MC3T3-E1 mouse osteoblasts.Methods: Lansoprazole-induced bone loss model was employed to investigate the damage effects of PPIs. In vivo, immunohistochemistry and HE staining, micro-CT analysis, blood biochemical tests were used to evaluate the effect of lansoprazole on bone injury in mice. In vitro, the effects and related signaling pathway of lansoprazole on MC3T3-E1 cells were investigated by CCK8, EDU kit, flow cytometry, laser confocal, patch clamp, PCR and Western blotting, etc.Results: After 6 months of lansoprazole gavage in ICR mice, micro-CT results showed that compared with the vehicle group, the bone mineral density (BMD) of high-dose group was significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the bone microarchitecture gradually degraded. Biochemical assay of bone serum found that blood calcium and phosphorus were both decreased (P<0.01). We found that long-term administration of lansoprazole impairs skeletal function in mice. In vitro, we found that lansoprazole (LPZ) could cause calcium overload in MC3T3-E1 cells leading to apoptosis, and 2-APB, an inhibitor of IP3R calcium release channel and SOC pathway, efctively blocked calcium increase caused by LPZ, thus protecting cell viability.Conclusion: Long-term administration of LPZ induced osteoporotic symptoms in mice, and LPZ triggered calcium elevation in osteoblasts in a concentration dependent manner, intracellular calcium ([Ca2+] persisted at a high concentration thereby causing endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and inducing osteoblasts apoptosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 7513
Author(s):  
Jacob Reiss ◽  
Samantha Robertson ◽  
Masatoshi Suzuki

Cellular agriculture is an emerging scientific discipline that leverages the existing principles behind stem cell biology, tissue engineering, and animal sciences to create agricultural products from cells in vitro. Cultivated meat, also known as clean meat or cultured meat, is a prominent subfield of cellular agriculture that possesses promising potential to alleviate the negative externalities associated with conventional meat production by producing meat in vitro instead of from slaughter. A core consideration when producing cultivated meat is cell sourcing. Specifically, developing livestock cell sources that possess the necessary proliferative capacity and differentiation potential for cultivated meat production is a key technical component that must be optimized to enable scale-up for commercial production of cultivated meat. There are several possible approaches to develop cell sources for cultivated meat production, each possessing certain advantages and disadvantages. This review will discuss the current cell sources used for cultivated meat production and remaining challenges that need to be overcome to achieve scale-up of cultivated meat for commercial production. We will also discuss cell-focused considerations in other components of the cultivated meat production workflow, namely, culture medium composition, bioreactor expansion, and biomaterial tissue scaffolding.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanting Xia ◽  
Jiangyuan Liu ◽  
Wenlong Yang ◽  
Min Liu ◽  
Yunfeng Luo ◽  
...  

Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) is a type of bone metabolism disease-related to estrogen deficiency with an increasing incidence. Traditional Chinese (TCM) has always been used and showed effectiveness in treating PMOP. In the current study, Bu-Yang herbs were considered to be the most frequently used and efficient TCM herbs in PMOP treatment. However, chemical and pharmacological profiles were not elucidated. Network pharmacology was conducted on representative Bu-Yang herbs (Yin-Yang-Huo. Du-Zhong, Bu-Gu-Zhi, Tu-Si-Zi) to investigate the mechanism of Bu-Yang herbs on PMOP. Chemical compounds, potential targets, and disease related genes were available from the corresponding database. Results showed that Bu-Yang herbs could interact with ESR1 and estrogen signaling pathways. For further validation, the Bu-Yang decoction (BYD), formula consisted of the above-mentioned 4 Bu-Yang herbs was presented for experimental validation. In vivo, BYD significantly reversed ovariectomy (OVX)-induced osteoporosis progress in a dose-dependent manner by up-regulation of bone mineral density and amelioration of bone microarchitecture. In vitro, BYD dramatically improved the proliferation and mineral nodules formation of osteoblasts. Both in vitro and in vivo results illustrated that the phenotype change induced by BYD is correlated with up-regulated of ESR1 and activation of the β-catenin pathway. Meanwhile, inhibition of ESR1 by ICI182, 780 blocked the osteogenic phenotype and β-catenin pathway activation induced by BYD. In conclusion, the current study suggested that Bu-Yang herbs are the most useful TCM herbs in treating PMOP. Furthermore, the integrated strategy of network pharmacology prediction with experimental validation suggested that BYD exerted its anti-PMOP via ESR1 and the downstream mechanism might be activation of the β-catenin signaling pathway.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 1148-1148
Author(s):  
Nami Nogawa ◽  
Nobuyoshi Kosaka ◽  
Youichi Aizawa ◽  
Hiroshi Miyazaki ◽  
Norio Komatsu ◽  
...  

Abstract Erythropoietin (EPO) is a main regulator of erythropoiesis ensuring oxygen supply in mammalian species. However the functions of EPO in nonmammalian vertebrates remain unclear. In this study, EPO was identified in Xenopus laevis (X. laevis), and its contribution to definitive erythropoiesis was studied. The X. laevis EPO (xlEpo) cDNA revealed that the deduced amino acid sequence had only 38% identity to human EPO (hEPO), while all four cysteine residues were conserved. xlEPO mRNA was expressed predominantly in the liver and lung. In order to assess the biological activity, recombinant xlEPO was produced by transfecting COS-1 with CMV promotor-driven vector. A mouse FDC/P2 cells stably expressing xlEPOR cDNA, that is a putative EPO receptor, showed proliferation in response to recombinant xlEPO in a dose dependent manner. This confirmed the ligand-receptor relationship of nonmammalian xlEPO and xlEPOR. To our surprise, xlEPO stimulated proliferation of EPO-dependent human cell line UT-7/EPO as well as murine EPOR expressing FDC/P2 cell lines. The cross-reactivity suggests the tertially structure is conserved through xlEPO to mammalian EPOs. In addition, the amino acid residues that are essential for hEPO binding to hEPOR are highly conserved in xlEPO. Since potent N-glycosylation site is absent in xlEPO, the glycosylation characteristics of recombinant xlEPO was studied by fractionation using wheat germ aggulutinin (WGA) and concanavalin A (ConA) lectin affinity chromatography. XlEPO activity was seen in flow-through fractions indicating the absence of O-glycosylation as well as N-glycosylation in xlEPO molecule. The absence of glycosylation suggests the high affinity of xlEPO to xlEPOR, and the shorter blood half-life. In order to investigate the biological function of xlEPO, in vitro colony forming assay of X. laevis erythroid progenitors was developed. Magnetic cell sorting analysis showed that xlEPOR-positive cells reside in the liver possessing typical erythroblastic morphology with high nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio containing hemoglobin. The formation of erythroblast colonies from liver cells on addition of recombinant xlEPO was observed. The colonies formed were erythroblast colonies composed of hemoglobin-synthesising erythroblasts, confirming the erythropoietic function of xlEPO in X. laevis erythropoiesis. These results and the detection of xlEPO mRNA in liver hypothesized the paracrine regulation of xlEPO. In the colony assay, erythropoietic activity was observed in the serum of phenylhydrazine (PHZ) induced anemic X. laevis. The highest erythropoietic activity was observed 4 days after PHZ-administration, prior to the peripheral erythrocyte number reaches a nadir at day 8. These results proved that xlEPO is a functional ortholog of mammalian EPO and its role in vertebrate hematopoietic system, providing new insights into the basis of erythropoietic regulations.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (20) ◽  
pp. 3735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim ◽  
Lee ◽  
Son ◽  
Lee ◽  
Son ◽  
...  

Osteoporosis is a disease that leads to reduced bone mineral density. The increase in patient and medical costs because of global aging is recognized as a problem. Decreased bone mass is a common symptom of bone diseases such as Paget’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple myeloma. Osteoclasts, which directly affect bone mass, show a marked increase in differentiation and activation in the aforementioned diseases. Moreover, these multinucleated cells made from monocytes/macrophages under the influence of RANKL and M-CSF, are the only cells capable of resorbing bones. In this study, we found that the water extracts of Boseokchal (BSC-W) inhibited osteoclast differentiation in vitro and investigated its inhibitory mechanism. BSC-W was obtained by extracting flour of Boseokchal using hexane and water. To osteoclast differentiation, bone marrow-derived macrophage cells (BMMs) were cultured with the vehicle (0.1% DMSO) or BSC-W in the presence of M-CSF and RANKL for 4 days. Cytotoxicity was measured by CCK-8. Gene expression of cells was confirmed by real-time PCR. Protein expression of cells was observed by western blot assay. Bone resorption activity of osteoclast evaluated by bone pit formation assay using an Osteo Assay Plate. BSC-W inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis in a dose-dependent manner without exerting a cytotoxic effect on BMMs. BSC-W decreased the transcriptional and translational expression of c-Fos and NFATc1, which are regulators of osteoclastogenesis and reduced the mRNA expression level of TRAP, DC-STAMP, and cathepsin K, which are osteoclast differentiation marker. Furthermore, BSC-W reduced the resorption activity of osteoclasts. Taken together, our results indicate that BSC-W is a useful candidate for health functional foods or therapeutic agents that can help treat bone diseases such as osteoporosis.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3542
Author(s):  
Hang Gao ◽  
Zhenlei Zhou

Xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS), non-digestible oligosaccharides, have the potential to regulate intestinal microorganisms, and thus, improve host health, but little evidence exists for the prebiotic effects on bone health. This study evaluates the dose-response effect of XOS supplementation on bone properties, the morphology of the intestine, cecum pH, and cecum wall weight, as well as the related calcium transporters. Ninety-six 28-day-old male mice were randomized into one of four groups, fed the same commercial diet, and given different types of deionized water containing 0, 1, 2, or 4% XOS by concentration for 30 days. Eight mice were randomly selected to accomplish particular tasks every 10 days. No significant differences in serum Ca and P levels and growth performance were observed among the four studied groups. XOS intervention significantly decreased cecum pH and increased cecum wall weight in a dose-dependent manner. At the late growth stage, compared with 0% XOS, the bone mineral density (BMD) and bone-breaking strength in 4% XOS were significantly higher. The bone crystallinity with 4% XOS, measured by Raman spectrum, was significantly enhanced compared to that with 0% XOS during later growth. The villus height and villus height to crypt depth (VH:CD) were enhanced with an increase of XOS concentration during the later stage of growth. The expression of transient receptor potential vanillin receptor 6 (TRPV6) and Na+/Ca2+ exchanger 1 (NCX1) in the duodenum were enhanced by XOS supplementation. XOS exerted a positive influence on bone properties by decreasing the cecum pH, increasing the cecum wall and villus structure, and upregulating the expression of related calcium transporters.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S48-S48
Author(s):  
Vidhya Nair ◽  
Haaris Khan ◽  
Ron Mitchell ◽  
Michael U Shiloh

Abstract Background Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is a bacterial pathogen that infects roughly one-third of the worldÕs population and causes 1–2 million deaths per year. The current paradigm is that phagocytosis of Mtb by patrolling alveolar macrophages initiates Mtb infection. While this model can account for pulmonary TB, it does not adequately explain the occurrence of extrapulmonary forms of TB that manifest in the absence of obvious lung involvement, such as tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis, also known as scrofula. We hypothesized that specialized epithelial cells called microfold cells (M cells) may be an alternate portal of entry for Mtb. Previously we demonstrated that Mtb is able to transcytose across an epithelial barrier in an M cell dependent manner and that M cell mediated transcytosis is vital for Mtb pathogenesis in a mouse model of tuberculosis. Methods We used an in vitro M-cell mediated translocation assay and a Mtb mutant lacking a key virulence factor, ESAT6. We used biochemistry and genetics to identify a novel receptor for ESAT6. We also developed a novel explanted human adenoid Mtb infection model to study mucosal immunity. Results We now demonstrate that the Mtb virulence factor ESAT6 is necessary and sufficient to mediate binding and transcytosis by M cells in vitro and in vivo, and that uptake of Mtb by M cells requires a unique cell surface ESAT6 receptor. We developed a novel explanted human adenoid model of M cell biology and demonstrate rapid Mtb transcytosis by primary human tissue within 60–120 minutes. Using flow cytometry we find that Mtb is first ingested by M cells and then after transcytosis, by tissue resident antigen-presenting cells. Explanted adenoids from 10 independent donors display a wide range of Mtb uptake. Conclusion We conclude that Mtb ESAT6 is necessary for Mtb uptake by M-cells and that binding and transcytosis require a host receptor. Because explanted adenoids display a wide range of Mtb uptake, M cell mediated transcytosis may confer differential susceptibility to scrofula and disseminated disease. These findings are significant as M cells could potentially serve as the basis for novel therapeutic targets against primary Mtb infection. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


Endocrinology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (4) ◽  
pp. 1734-1742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio M. Larráyoz ◽  
Alfredo Martínez

Intracellular cargo transport relies on microtubules and motor proteins such as kinesins and dyneins. Currently we have ample knowledge of the mechanisms by which motor proteins propel themselves along the microtubules, but little is known about intracellular factors that regulate motor speed. Here we show that proadrenomedullin N-terminal 20 peptide (PAMP) increases kinesin velocity and ATP consumption in a dose-dependent manner, using a variety of human kinesins. Structure-activity studies found that the terminal amide of PAMP is required for modulating kinesin activity and that the smallest peptide fragment retaining this role is PAMP(12–20). On the other hand, peptide fragments as small as PAMP(18–20) maintained the ability of delaying tubulin polymerization, another function previously described for PAMP, indicating that these two activities depend on different regions of the molecule. To demonstrate that these observations are also relevant in vivo, hippocampal neurons were isolated from mice lacking the gene coding for PAMP and from wild type littermates. Intravital stains followed by time-lapse microscopy analysis revealed that mitochondrial speed inside neurons lacking PAMP was significantly slower than in cells expressing the peptide. External addition of synthetic PAMP reversed this phenotype in PAMP-null neurons. Besides the obvious implications for better understanding cell biology, these results may be also relevant for the rapidly evolving discipline of nanotechnology because PAMP may be used as an accelerator of nanodevices based on microtubules and motor proteins.


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