Attenuation of hind-limb suspension-induced bone loss by curcumin is associated with reduced oxidative stress and increased vitamin D receptor expression

Authors

M. Xin, Y. Yang, D. Zhang, J. Wang, S. Chen, D. Zhou

Abstract

Summary Treatment with curcumin attenuated modeled microgravity-induced bone loss, possibly through abating oxidative stress and activating vitamin D receptor. Curcumin might be an effective countermeasure for microgravity-induced bone loss but remains to be tested in humans.

Introduction Bone loss is one of the most important complications for human crewmembers who are exposed to long-term microgravity in space and also for bedridden people. The aim of the current study was to elucidate whether treatment with curcumin attenuated bone loss induced by microgravity.

Methods We used hind-limb suspension (HLS) and rotary wall vessel bioreactor (RWVB) to model microgravity in vivo and in vitro, respectively. We investigated the effects of curcumin consumption (40 mg kg−1 body weight day−1, via daily oral gavages) on Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats exposed to HLS for 6 weeks. Then, we investigated the effects of incubation with curcumin (4 μM) on MC3T3-E1 and RAW264.7 cells cultured in RWVB.

Results Curcumin alleviated HLS-induced reduction of bone mineral density in tibiae and preserved bone structure in tibiae and mechanical strength in femurs. Curcumin alleviated HLS-induced oxidative stress marked by reduced malondialdehyde content and increased total sulfhydryl content in femurs. In cultured MC3T3-E1 cells, curcumin inhibited modeled microgravity-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and enhanced osteoblastic differentiation. In cultured RAW264.7 cells, curcumin reduced modeled microgravity-induced ROS formation and attenuated osteoclastogenesis. In addition, curcumin upregulated vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression in femurs of rats exposed to HLS and MC3T3-E1 cells exposed to modeled microgravity.

Conclusion Curcumin alleviated HLS-induced bone loss in rats, possibly via suppressing oxidative stress and upregulating VDR expression.

Link To Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00198-015-3153-7

The receptor CD44 is associated with systemic insulin resistance and proinflammatory macrophages in human adipose tissue

Authors

Li Fen Liu, Keiichi Kodama, Ke Wei, Lorna L. Tolentino, Okmi Choi, Edgar G. Engleman, Atul J. Butte, Tracey McLaughlin

Abstract

Aims/hypothesis Proinflammatory immune cell infiltration in human adipose tissue is associated with the development of insulin resistance. We previously identified, via a gene expression-based genome-wide association study, the cell-surface immune cell receptor CD44 as a functionally important gene associated with type 2 diabetes. We then showed that, compared with controls, Cd44 knockout mice were protected from insulin resistance and adipose tissue inflammation during diet-induced obesity. We thus sought to test whether CD44 is associated with adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance in humans.

Methods Participants included 58 healthy, overweight/moderately obese white adults who met predetermined criteria for insulin resistance or insulin sensitivity based on the modified insulin-suppression test. Serum was collected from 43 participants to measure circulating concentrations of CD44. Subcutaneous adipose tissue was obtained from 17 participants to compare CD44, its ligand osteopontin (OPN, also known as SPP1) and pro-inflammatory gene expression. CD44 expression on adipose tissue macrophage (ATM) surfaces was determined by flow cytometry.

Results Serum CD44 concentrations were significantly increased in insulin-resistant (IR) participants. CD44 gene expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue was threefold higher in the IR subgroup. The expression of OPN, CD68 and IL6 was also significantly elevated in IR individuals. CD44 gene expression correlated significantly with CD68 and IL6 expression. CD44 density on ATMs was associated with proinflammatory M1 polarisation.

Conclusions/interpretation CD44 and OPN in human adipose tissue are associated with localised inflammation and systemic insulin resistance. This receptor–ligand pair is worthy of further research as a potentially modifiable contributor to human insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Link To Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00125-015-3603-y

Immediate effects of retinoic acid on gene expression in primary murine osteoblasts

Authors

Timur A. Yorgan, Timo Heckt, Carsten Rendenbach, Christina Helmis, Sebastian Seitz, Thomas Streichert, Michael Amling, Thorsten Schinke

Abstract

Consistent with clinical observations demonstrating that hypervitaminosis A is associated with increased skeletal fracture risk, we have previously found that dietary retinol deprivation partially corrects the bone mineralization defects in a mouse model of X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets. That retinol-dependent signaling pathways impact the skeleton is further supported by various findings demonstrating a negative influence of retinoic acid (RA) on bone-forming osteoblasts. We hypothesized that RA would directly regulate the expression of specific target genes in osteoblasts, and we aimed to identify these by genome-wide expression analyses. Here we show that high dietary retinol intake in mice causes low bone mass associated with increased osteoclastogenesis and decreased osteoblastogenesis, but intact bone matrix mineralization. We additionally found that short-term treatment of primary osteoblasts with RA causes a rapid induction of specific genes involved in either retinol-dependent signaling (i.e. Rara, Crabp2) or skeletal remodeling (i.e. Twist2,Tnfsf11). In contrast, neither expression of established osteoblast differentiation markers nor the proliferation rate was immediately affected by RA administration. Collectively, our data suggest that the negative effects of vitamin A on skeletal integrity are explainable by an immediate influence of RA signaling on specific genes in osteoblasts that in turn influence bone remodeling.

Link To Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00774-015-0666-2

Nf1 Haploinsufficiency Alters Myeloid Lineage Commitment and Function, Leading to Deranged Skeletal Homeostasis

Authors

Steven D. Rhodes, Hao Yang, Ruizhi Dong, Keshav Menon, Yongzheng He, Zhaomin Li, Shi Chen, Karl W. Staser, Li Jiang, Xiaohua Wu,Xianlin Yang, Xianghong Peng, Khalid S. Mohammad, Theresa A. Guise,Mingjiang Xu and Feng-Chun Yang

Abstract

While nullizygous loss of NF1 leads to myeloid malignancies, haploinsufficient loss of NF1 (Nf1) has been shown to contribute to osteopenia and osteoporosis which occurs in approximately 50 percent of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) patients. Bone marrow mononuclear cells of haploinsufficient NF1 patients and Nf1+/− mice exhibit increased osteoclastogenesis and accelerated bone turnover, however the culprit hematopoietic lineages responsible for perpetuating these osteolytic manifestations have yet to be elucidated. Here we demonstrate that conditional inactivation of a single Nf1 allele within the myeloid progenitor cell population (Nf1-LysM) is necessary and sufficient to promote multiple osteoclast gain-in-functions, resulting in enhanced osteoclastogenesis and accelerated osteoclast bone lytic activity in response to pro-resorptive challenge in vivo. Surprisingly, mice conditionally Nf1 heterozygous in mature, terminally differentiated osteoclasts (Nf1-Ctsk) do not exhibit any of these skeletal phenotypes, indicating a critical requirement for Nf1 haploinsufficiency at a more primitive/progenitor stage of myeloid development in perpetuating osteolytic activity. We further identified p21Ras dependent hyper-phosphorylation of Pu.1 within the nucleus of Nf1 haploinsufficent myelomoncytic osteoclast precursors, providing a novel therapeutic target for the potential treatment of NF1 associated osteolytic manifestations.

Link To Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.2538

Diacylglycerol Kinase ζ (DGKζ) is a Critical Regulator of Bone Homeostasis via Modulation of c-Fos Levels in Osteoclasts

Authors

Ali Zamani, Corinne Decker, Viviana Cremasco, Lindsey Hughes, Deborah V. Novack and Roberta Faccio

Abstract

Increased diacylglycerol (DAG) levels are observed in numerous pathologies, including conditions associated with bone loss. However, the effects of DAG accumulation on the skeleton have never been directly examined. Because DAG is strictly controlled by tissue specific diacylglycerol kinases (DGKs), we sought to examine the biological consequences of DAG accumulation on bone homeostasis by genetic deletion of DGKζ, a highly expressed DGK isoform in osteoclasts (OCs).

Strikingly, DGKζ-/- mice are osteoporotic due to a marked increase in OC numbers. In vitro, DGKζ-/- bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) form more numerous, larger and highly resorptive OCs. Surprisingly, while increased DAG levels do not alter RANK/RANKL osteoclastogenic pathway, DGKζ deficiency increases responsiveness to the proliferative and pro-survival cytokine M-CSF. We find that M-CSF is responsible for increased DGKζ-/- OC differentiation by promoting higher expression of the transcription factor c-Fos, and c-Fos knockdown in DGKζ-/- cultures dose-dependently reduces OC differentiation. Using a c-Fos luciferase reporter assay lacking the TRE responsive element, we also demonstrate that M-CSF induces optimal c-Fos expression through DAG production. Finally, to demonstrate the importance of the M-CSF/DGKζ/DAG axis on regulation of c-Fos during osteoclastogenesis, we turned to PLCγ2+/− BMMs, which have reduced DAG levels and form fewer OCs due to impaired expression of the master regulator of osteoclastogenesis NFATc1 and c-Fos. Strikingly, genetic deletion of DGKζ in PLCγ2+/− mice rescues OC formation and normalizes c-Fos levels without altering NFATc1 expression. To our knowledge, this is the first report implicating M-CSF/DGKζ/DAG axis as a critical regulator of bone homeostasis via its actions on OC differentiation and c-Fos expression.

Link To Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.2533