Bone marrow stromal (a.k.a. mesenchymal stem) cells (BMSCs) can differentiate into osteoblasts (OBs), adipocytes, or chondrocytes. As BMSCs undergo OB differentiation, they up-regulate mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos). Here, we investigated the mechanism(s) connecting mitochondrial OxPhos to OB differentiation. First, we found that treating BMSC-like C3H10T1/2 cells with an OxPhos inhibitor reduces their osteogenic potential. Interestingly, ATP levels were not reduced, as glycolysis compensated for the decreased OxPhos. Thus, mitochondria support OB differentiation not only by supplying ATP, but also by other mechanisms. To uncover these mechanisms, we stimulated OxPhos in C3H10T1/2 cells by replacing media glucose with galactose and observed that this substitution increases both OxPhos and osteogenesis even in the absence of osteoinducers. β-Catenin, an important signaling pathway in osteogenesis, was found to be responsive to OxPhos stimulation. β-Catenin activity is maintained by acetylation, and mitochondria generate the acetyl donor acetyl-CoA, which upon entering the Krebs cycle is converted to citrate capable of exiting mitochondria. Cytosolic citrate is converted back to acetyl-CoA by ATP citrate lyase (ACLY). We found that inhibiting ACLY with SB204990 (SB) reverses the galactose-induced β-catenin activity and OB differentiation. This suggested that acetylation is involved in β-catenin activation after forced OxPhos stimulation, and using immunoprecipitation, we indeed detected SB-sensitive β-catenin acetylation. Both β-catenin acetylation and activity increased during osteoinduction coincident with OxPhos activation. These findings suggest that active mitochondria support OB differentiation by promoting β-catenin acetylation and thus activity.

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OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: The study aims to further investigate how cyclophilin D (CypD), the key mPTP opening regulator, affects BMSCs fate and to determine potential regulatory mechanisms involved in CypD regulation during osteogenesis. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We evaluated CypD mRNA expression in mouse BMSCs and in osteogenic-like (OL) cells during the course of OB differentiation. CypD protein level was also probed. Moreover, BMSCs had their mPTP activity recorded during osteoinduction. We further analyzed the effect of CypD genetic deletion on osteogenesis in vitro and in vivo. For our in vivo model, we performed the ectopic bone formation assay to asses differences in ossicle formation when CypD KO BMSCs were transplanted compared to wild type littermate BMSCs. In our in vitro model, we transfected OL cells with either CypD gain of function or CypD loss of function vector and measured their osteogenic differentiation potential. Additionally, we treated BMSCs with CypD inhibitor and compare to non-treated BMSCs for mineralization level. To determine potential regulatory mechanisms involved in CypD regulation, we analyzed the CypD gene (Ppif) promoter for potential transcription factor (TF) binding sites and found multiple Smad-binding elements within this promoter. Smads (Smad1, 5, 8) are TFs downstream from Bone Morphogenic Protein (BMP) signaling pathway that transmit cell differentiation signaling, and exert either activating or inhibitory effects on a variety of genes. We also transfect OL cells with Smad1 vector and analyzed for CypD mRNA levels. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: - Our data showed that CypD mRNA levels decreased in both primary cells and OL cells at day 7 and day 14 in osteogenic media. - Osteogenic induction also decreased mPTP activity. - In vivo ectopic bone formation assay showed increased ossicle fo DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Our data suggest that downregulation of CypD increases OB differentiation due to improved OxPhos activity led by mPTP closure. Our results corroborate reports of CypD downregulation and mPTP closure during neuronal differentiation in developing rat brains as well as in cardiomyocyte differentiation in developing mouse hearts. Our studies also suggest a yet unknown mechanism linking differentiation signaling with mitochondrial function – BMP/Smad mediated downregulation of CypD transcription. As initially mentioned, in a previous study, our lab showed that CypD KO mice present higher mitochondrial function and osteogenicity in aged BMSCs and less osteoporosis burden. Taken together, these results suggest that CypD can be a potential target to prevent bone loss in aging.