Molecular analysis of bone regeneration in aging and osteoporosis

Mesenchymale Stammzellen (MSC) stellen die Grundlage der Knochenformation dar, indem sie als multipotente Zellen in viele, für die Knochenhomöostase benötigte Zelltypen differenzieren können, wie z.B. Osteoblasten. Während der Alterung des Menschen kommt es zu einem Ungleichgewicht zwischen Knochenaufbau und Knochenabbau, resultierend in einer verringerten Knochenmasse. Noch ist unklar, ob MSC an dem verminderten Knochenaufbau direkt beteiligt sind, indem sie z.B.im Laufe der Zeit Funktionsstörungen akkumulieren oder in die Seneszenz eintreten, und somit nicht mehr als Stammzellpool für die Osteoblastendifferenzierung zur Verfügung stehen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde das Genexpressionsmuster gealterter Zellen mittels Mikroarray-Analysen untersucht, um die Alters-bedingten Veränderungen detektieren zu können. Hierfür wurde ein in-vitro-Alterungsmodell von humanen MSC (hMSC) etabliert, um die seneszenten Zellen mit hMSC früher Kultivierungspassagen zu vergleichen. Auch Zellen aus Spendern hohen Alters wurden untersucht, um einen Vergleich zwischen ex-vivo- und in-vitro-gealterten hMSC anstellen zu können. Da Osteoporose eine polygenetische Erkrankung des gealterten Knochens darstellt, wurden auch mit hMSC aus Osteoporose-Patienten Genexpressionsanalysen durchgeführt. Die Mikroarray-Analysen und anschließende systembiologische Auswertung zeigten, dass in-vitro-gealterte, seneszente hMSC starke Veränderungen im Transkriptom aufweisen, die auf Defizite in der Proliferation, Differenzierungskapazität und Migration schließen lassen. Neben bekannten Markern für replikative Seneszenz konnten in hMSC auch neue detektiert werden, wie z.B. HELLS, POU5F1 (OCT4) und FGFR2, deren Expression mit der Seneszenz abnimmt, oder CDH1 und PSG5, deren Expression zunimmt. Gene für Akute-Phase-SAA wurden stark erhöht exprimiert vorgefunden. Bei der funktionellen Charakterisierung konnte jedoch gezeigt werden, dass SAA1 und SAA1 durch Stress induziert werden, der der Seneszenz vorausgeht, und dass sie die Mineralisierung bei der osteogenen Differenzierung von hMSC fördern. Akute-Phase-SAA könnten somit eine Verbindung zwischen Alterung bzw. Inflammation und extra-skelettaler Verkalkung darstellen, die im Alter häufig auftritt, z.B. in Form von Arteriosklerose. In-vivo-gealterte hMSC wiesen ebenfalls Defizite im Expressionsmuster von Proliferations- und Migrations- relevanten Genen auf. Des Weiteren konnten nur wenige Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen in-vivo-gealterten hMSC und in-vitro-gealterten hMSC festgestellt werden. Dies lässt vermuten, dass die in-vivo-Alterung nicht zwangsläufig zu seneszenten Stammzellen führt, da Alterung eines Organismus ein multizellulärer Prozess ist, der durch viele Faktoren beeinflusst wird, wie z.B. Akkumulation von Mutationen und Krebsabwehr. Auch osteoporotische hMSC wiesen Veränderungen im Genexpressionsmuster auf, die mit den Daten zur in-vivo-Alterung verglichen wurden, um die rein Alters-assoziierten Änderungen herausfiltern zu können. Die übrig gebliebenen Gene repräsentierten Veränderungen allein aufgrund der Krankheit. Osteoporose bewirkte somit distinkte Genexpressions-änderungen in hMSC, die auf Förderung der Osteoklastogenese und Defizite in Proliferation, Migration und Differenzierungskapazität schließen lassen. Es konnten vielversprechende Kandidaten-gene für osteoporotische hMSC gefunden werden. Die prämature Expression des WNT-Inhibitors SOST (Sclerostin) und die Überexpression des BMP-Signalweg-Inhibitors MAB21L2 deuten auf eine Autoinhibition der Stammzellen hin, die letztlich die gestörte Knochenformation bei Alters-assoziierter Osteoporose begründen könnte. Zusammenfassend zeigt die vorliegende Arbeit, dass intrinsische Defizite von Stammzellen an der Pathophysiologie von Alterung und Osteoporose beteiligt sind. Sie eröffnet tiefgreifende Einblicke in die systembiologischen Veränderungen in Stammzellen aufgrund von Alterung oder Osteoporose, und setzt somit einen soliden Grundstein für weiterführende Analysen.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) represent the basis of bone formation, because as multipotent cells they can differentiate into many cell types important for bone homeostasis, e.g. osteoblasts. During aging an imbalance between bone formation and bone resorption occurs, which results in reduced bone mass. It is still unclear whether MSC biology is directly involved in reduced bone formation, e.g. by accumulating malfunctions in aged organisms or by entering replicative senscence. Thereby they would no longer function as a regenerative source for osteogenesis. In this study, the gene expression pattern of aged human MSC (hMSC) was analyzed by microarray hybridizations to determine aging-associated changes in those cells. Therefore, a model for in vitro aging was established and the gene expression pattern of senescent hMSC was compared with the pattern of hMSC in early passages. Moreover, cells isolated from patients of old age were analyzed to perform a comparison between ex-vivo and in vivo aging. Human MSC of patients diagnosed with osteoporosis were also examined because osteoporosis is a polygenetic disease of aged bone. Systems biology based interpretation of the microarray data revealed changes on the mRNA level in in vitro aged hMSC that indicate deficits in proliferation, differentiation capacity and migration. Additionally to known markers of replicative senescence in hMSC, new markers were detected, e.g. reduced expression of HELLS, POU5F1 (OCT4), and FGFR2, as well as higher expression of CDH1 and PSG5. Furthermore, genes for acute phase SAA proteins showed extremely high expression in senescent hMSC. Functional characterization of SAA1 and SAA2 revealed that the expression is rather a consequence of stress that precedes senescence than of replicative senescence itself. SAA also increases mineralization of osteogenic differentiated hMSC and could therefore be involved in age- or inflammation-associated extraskeletal calcification, e.g. arteriosclerosis. In vivo aged hMSC also showed deficiency in proliferation and migration on mRNA level. Furthermore on the gene expression level, in vivo aged and in vitro aged hMSC shared only few similarities. Those findings suggest that in vivo aging does not necessarily results in senescent stem cells, because the aging of an organism is a multicellular process, which is influenced by many other factors, e.g. accumulation of mutations and tumor defense. Osteoporotic hMSC also showed changes in their gene expression pattern. By comparing those data with the results of hMSC from age-matched patients, age-associated changes could be eliminated. All remaining genes with differential expression represented osteoporosis-related changes that indicated deficiencies in proliferation, migration and differentiation capacity. There were hints for enhancement of osteoclastogenesis by osteoporotic hMSC and promising candidates for osteoporosis with respect to inhibition of osteogenesis were detected. SOST (sclerostin) acts as an inhibitor for WNT signaling and MAB21L2 as an inhibitor for BMP signaling. Both genes were expressed to a higher extent in osteoporotic hMSC, which indicates autoinhibition of the stem cells and could lead to the reduced bone formation in osteoporosis. In summary, this study indicates that intrinsic alterations in stem cell biology are involved in the pathophysiology of aging and osteoporosis. It opens up profound insights into changes in systems biology of hMSC due to aging or osteoporosis which provide a broad basis for further analyses

Osteoblast-Specific Krm2 Overexpression and Lrp5 Deficiency Have Different Effects on Fracture Healing in Mice

The canonical Wnt/beta-catenin pathway plays a key role in the regulation of bone remodeling in mice and humans. Two transmembrane proteins that are involved in decreasing the activity of this pathway by binding to extracellular antagonists, such as Dickkopf 1 (Dkk1), are the low-density lipoprotein receptor related protein 5 (Lrp5) and Kremen 2 (Krm2). Lrp 5 deficiency (Lrp5(-/-)) as well as osteoblast-specific overexpression of Krm2 in mice (Col1a1-Krm2) result in severe osteoporosis occurring at young age. In this study, we analyzed the influence of Lrp5 deficiency and osteoblast-specific overexpression of Krm2 on fracture healing in mice using flexible and semi-rigid fracture fixation. We demonstrated that fracture healing was highly impaired in both mouse genotypes, but that impairment was more severe in Col1a1-Krm2 than in Lrp5(-/-) mice and particularly evident in mice in which the more flexible fixation was used. Bone formation was more reduced in Col1a1-Krm2 than in Lrp5(-/-) mice, whereas osteoclast number was similarly increased in both genotypes in comparison with wild-type mice. Using microarray analysis we identified reduced expression of genes mainly involved in osteogenesis that seemed to be responsible for the observed stronger impairment of healing in Col1a1-Krm2 mice. In line with these findings, we detected decreased expression of sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 3 (Smpd3) and less active beta-catenin in the calli of Col1a1-Krm2 mice. Since Krm2 seems to play a significant role in regulating bone formation during fracture healing, antagonizing KRM2 might be a therapeutic option to improve fracture healing under compromised conditions, such as osteoporosis

Acute phase serum amyloid A induces proinflammatory cytokines and mineralization via toll-like receptor 4 in mesenchymal stem cells

The role of serum amyloid A (SAA) proteins, which are ligands for toll-like receptors, was analyzed in human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and their osteogenic offspring with a focus on senescence, differentiation and mineralization. In vitro aged hMSC developed a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), resulting in enhanced SAA1/2, TLR2/4 and proinflammatory cytokine (IL6, IL8, IL1β, CXCL1, CXCL2) expression before entering replicative senescence. Recombinant human SAA1 (rhSAA1) induced SASP-related genes and proteins in MSC, which could be abolished by cotreatment with the TLR4-inhibitor CLI-095. The same pattern of SASP-resembling genes was stimulated upon induction of osteogenic differentiation, which is accompanied by autocrine SAA1/2 expression. In this context additional rhSAA1 enhanced the SASP-like phenotype, accelerated the proinflammatory phase of osteogenic differentiation and enhanced mineralization. Autocrine/paracrine and rhSAA1 via TLR4 stimulate a proinflammatory phenotype that is both part of the early phase of osteogenic differentiation and the development of senescence. This signaling cascade is tightly involved in bone formation and mineralization, but may also propagate pathological extraosseous calcification conditions such as calcifying inflammation and atherosclerosis

The Transcriptional Profile of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Populations in Primary Osteoporosis Is Distinct and Shows Overexpression of Osteogenic Inhibitors

Primary osteoporosis is an age-related disease characterized by an imbalance in bone homeostasis. While the resorptive aspect of the disease has been studied intensely, less is known about the anabolic part of the syndrome or presumptive deficiencies in bone regeneration. Multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are the primary source of osteogenic regeneration. In the present study we aimed to unravel whether MSC biology is directly involved in the pathophysiology of the disease and therefore performed microarray analyses of hMSC of elderly patients (79-94 years old) suffering from osteoporosis (hMSC-OP). In comparison to age-matched controls we detected profound changes in the transcriptome in hMSC-OP, e.g. enhanced mRNA expression of known osteoporosis-associated genes (LRP5, RUNX2, COL1A1) and of genes involved in osteoclastogenesis (CSF1, PTH1R), but most notably of genes coding for inhibitors of WNT and BMP signaling, such as Sclerostin and MAB21L2. These candidate genes indicate intrinsic deficiencies in self-renewal and differentiation potential in osteoporotic stem cells. We also compared both hMSC-OP and non-osteoporotic hMSC-old of elderly donors to hMSC of similar to 30 years younger donors and found that the transcriptional changes acquired between the sixth and the ninth decade of life differed widely between osteoporotic and non-osteoporotic stem cells. In addition, we compared the osteoporotic transcriptome to long term-cultivated, senescent hMSC and detected some signs for pre-senescence in hMSC-OP. Our results suggest that in primary osteoporosis the transcriptomes of hMSC populations show distinct signatures and little overlap with non-osteoporotic aging, although we detected some hints for senescence-associated changes. While there are remarkable inter-individual variations as expected for polygenetic diseases, we could identify many susceptibility genes for osteoporosis known from genetic studies. We also found new candidates, e.g. MAB21L2, a novel repressor of BMP-induced transcription. Such transcriptional changes may reflect epigenetic changes, which are part of a specific osteoporosis-associated aging process

Candidate genes for impaired fracture healing in <i>Col1a1-Krm2</i> and <i>Lrp5^−/−</i> mice.

<p>Differential gene expression in callus tissue was analyzed 10 days post-fracture by microarray analysis (n = 3). Only gene products that fulfilled criteria for significant gene expression changes (see methods) are listed.</p><p>FC: mean value of fold changes of the cross-wise comparisons with wildtype callus (n = 3) as determined by microarray analysis.</p><p>SD: standard deviation.</p><p>― no significantly differential expression when compared to wildtype callus (n = 3) as determined by microarray analysis.</p

<i>Krm2</i> overexpression in osteoblasts has a stronger effect on gene expression than <i>Lrp5</i> deficiency.

<p>(A) The numbers indicate the number of gene products with significantly differential expression in calli of <i>Col1a1-Krm2</i> and <i>Lrp5-/-</i> mice in comparison to WT mice (for gene names see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0103250#pone.0103250.s001" target="_blank">Table S1</a>). (B) Relative changes in gene expression of osteoblast associated genes and Wnt target genes. QPCR was performed with samples prepared from callus tissue under semi-rigid fixation 10 days post-fracture. Gene expression in <i>Col1a1-Krm2</i> mice and <i>Lrp5^−/−</i> mice are expressed as fold change relative to wildtype mice. Wildtype (n = 6), <i>Lrp5^−/−</i> (n = 6), <i>Col1a1-Krm2</i> (n = 5) ± SD. * p<0.05, ** p<0.01.</p

Quantitative PCR primer sequences.

<p>Quantitative PCR primer sequences.</p

<i>Krm2</i> overexpression in osteoblasts and <i>Lrp5</i> deficiency impair regular fracture healing.

<p>The fractured femurs of wildtype, <i>Col1a1-Krm2</i> and <i>Lrp5^−/−</i> mice were stabilized using a semi-rigid fixator in order to provide better mechanical healing conditions as described in the Material and Methods section. (A) In order determine the mechanical competence of the femurs the stiffness of both intact and fractured femurs was measured. Wildtype (n = 8), <i>Lrp5^−/−</i> (n = 9), <i>Col1a1-Krm2</i> (n = 7) ± SD * p<0.05. (B) µCT analysis was performed to measure callus volume (TV), maximum moment of inertia (Imax) and bone volume fraction (BV/TV). Wildtype (n = 8), <i>Lrp5^−/−</i> (n = 7), <i>Col1a1-Krm2</i> (n = 7) ± SD. * p<0.05 versus wildtype. (C) For histological analysis, the paraffin sections of the calli were stained with Giemsa at day 10 post fracture. Sections of methacrylate embedded calli were stained with Paragon at day 21 post fracture. The black arrows indicate crude and less branched bone trabeculae in the callus of <i>Col1a1-Krm2 mice</i> (D) Histomorphometric evaluation was performed to quantify total osseous tissue, cartilage, and fibrous tissue in the callus at day 10 and 21 post fracture. Wildtype (n = 8), <i>Lrp5^−/−</i> (n = 5), <i>Col1a1-Krm2</i> (n = 5) ± SD. * p<0.05 versus wildtype.</p

Bony bridging of the fracture callus.

<p>Bony bridging of the fracture callus evaluated at 4 locations in the fracture callus: anterior and posterior callus peripherally (periosteal callus) and in between the cortices (intracortical callus). The quality of bone bridging was described by a scoring system (4 =  complete bony bridging at all locations; 3 =  at 3 locations; at 2 locations; 1 =  at 1 location; 0 =  no bony bridging). The table displays the number of mice with a distinct bridging score within the groups. n = 4–7 mice per group.</p