Hepatocyte-specific gene expression requires the interaction of many proteins with multiple binding sites in the regulatory regions. HNF-3 is a site found to be important in the maximal hepatocyte-specific expression of several genes. We find that liver nuclear extracts contain three major binding activities for this site, which we call HNF-3A, HNF-3B, and HNF-3C. Purification from rat liver nuclear extracts of HNF-3A and HNF-3C reveals that each activity corresponds to a distinct polypeptide, as determined by SDS-PAGE. Peptide sequence derived from the most abundant species, HNF-3A, was used for synthesizing probes with which to isolate a cDNA clone of this protein. The encoded protein contains 466 amino acids (48.7 kD) and has binding properties identical to those of the purified protein. A 160-amino-acid region that does not resemble the binding domain of any known transcription factor is essential for DNA binding. The mRNA for HNF-3A is present in the rat liver but not in brain, kidney, intestine, or spleen, and the basis for this difference is cell-specific regulation of HNF-3A gene transcription.

The anti-glucocorticoid potential of BMP-2 in osteoblasts was tested in MC3T3-E1 cells using dexamethasone (1 M) and rhBMP-2 (10 or 100 ng/ml). rhBMP-2 restored mineralization but not condensation or collagen accumulation. These results demonstrate the potential and limitations of BMPs in counteracting glucocorticoids.Introduction: Pharmacologic glucocorticoids (GCs) inhibit osteoblast function and induce osteoporosis. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) stimulate osteoblast differentiation and bone formation. Here we tested the anti-glucocorticoid potential of BMP-2 in cultured osteoblasts. Materials and Methods: MC3T3-E1 cells were treated with dexamethasone (DEX; 1 M) and/or recombinant human BMP-2 (rhBMP-2; 10 or 100 ng/ml). Culture progression was characterized by cell cycle profiling, biochemical assays for DNA, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), collagen, and calcium, and by reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of osteoblast phenotypic mRNAs. Mineralization was characterized by Alizarin red and von Kossa staining and by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results: DEX inhibited differentiation-related cell cycle, nodule formation, collagen accumulation, osteocalcin, and BMP-2 gene expression as well as mineralization. Replenishment of GC-inhibited cultures with 10 or 100 ng/ml rhBMP-2 dramatically rescued mineral deposition. The rhBMP-2-rescued mineral was bone-like apatite nearly identical to the mineral of control cultures. The rhBMP-2 rescue was associated with increased mRNA levels for ␣1(I) collagen, osteocalcin, and Cbfa1 types I and II, as well as ALP activity. In contrast, rhBMP-2 did not rescue the GC-inhibited differentiation-related cell cycle, nodule formation, or collagen accumulation. When administered alone, rhBMP-2 also increased the mRNA levels for ␣1(I) collagen, osteocalcin, and Cbfa1 types I and II, as well as ALP activity. However, treatment with rhBMP-2 alone inhibited cell cycle progression, nodule formation, and collagen accumulation. Surprisingly, in contrast to its rescue of mineralization in DEX-treated cultures, rhBMP-2 inhibited mineralization in the absence of DEX. In parallel to its bimodal effect on mineralization, rhBMP-2 stimulated endogenous BMP-2 mRNA in the presence of DEX, but inhibited endogenous BMP-2 mRNA in the absence of DEX. Conclusions: Suppression of BMP-2 gene expression plays a pivotal role in GC inhibition of osteoblast differentiation. However, the inability of rhBMP-2 to rescue the entire osteoblast phenotype suggests BMP-2-independent inhibitory effects of GCs. BMP-2 exerts both positive and negative effects on osteoblasts, possibly depending on the differentiation stage and/or the existing BMP signaling.

Glucocorticoids, widely used as immune suppressors, cause osteoporosis by inhibiting bone formation. In MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cultures, dexamethasone (DEX) activates glycogen synthase kinase-3␤ (GSK3␤) and inhibits a differentiation-related cell cycle that occurs at a commitment stage immediately after confluence. Here we show that DEX inhibition of the differentiation-related cell cycle is associated with a decrease in ␤-catenin levels and inhibition of LEF/TCF-mediated transcription. These inhibitory activities are no longer observed in the presence of lithium, a GSK3␤ inhibitor. DEX decreased the serum-responsive phosphorylation of protein kinase B/Akt-Ser 473 within minutes, and this inhibition was also observed after 12 h. When the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway was inhibited by wortmannin, DEX no longer inhibited ␤-catenin levels. Furthermore, DEX-mediated inhibition of LEF/ TCF transcriptional activity was attenuated in the presence of dominant negative forms of either PI3K or protein kinase B/Akt. These results suggest cross-talk between the PI3K/Akt and Wnt signaling pathways. Consistent with a role for Wnt signaling in the osteoblast differentiation-related cell cycle, wortmannin partially negated the DEX inhibition of this cell cycle. DEX also induced histone deacetylase (HDAC) 1, which is known to inhibit LEF/TCF transcriptional activity. Overexpression of HDAC1 negated the inhibitory effect of DEX on LEF/TCF transcriptional activity. In the presence of trichostatin A, a deacetylase inhibitor, DEX-mediated inhibition of the differentiation-related cell cycle was partially negated. When administered together, wortmannin and trichostatin A completely negated the inhibitory effect of DEX on the differentiation-related cell cycle. These results suggest that inhibition of a PI3K/Akt/GSK3␤/␤-catenin/LEF axis and stimulation of HDAC1 cooperate to mediate the inhibitory effect of DEX on Wnt signaling and the osteoblast differentiation-related cell cycle.

Glucocorticoid (GC) treatment for the management of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases is associated with decreased bone formation and increased risk for fracture. In MC3T3-E1 cell cultures, 0·1 -1 µM dexamethasone (DEX) arrests development of the osteoblast phenotype when administration commences at a commitment stage around the time of confluency. To gain new insights into GC-induced osteoporosis, we performed microarray-based gene expression analysis of GC-arrested MC3T3-E1 cultures, 2·5 days after the administration of DEX. Of the .12 000 transcripts interrogated, 74 were up-regulated and 17 were down-regulated by at least 2·5-fold (P¯0·05). Some of these genes, such as Mmp13, Serum/GC-regulated kinase and Tieg, have previously been reported as GC-responsive. Others are shown here for the first time to respond to GCs. DEX strongly repressed Krox20/Egr2 at both the mRNA and the protein level. This is especially significant because mice lacking this transcription factor develop osteoporosis. The data also suggest that the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathway, which is involved in regulating bone mass, and other pathways that influence BMP signaling, are abrogated by GCs: (i) DEX increased the mRNA levels of the BMP antagonists Follistatin and Dan; (ii) DEX increased the levels of p21 Rasgap3 and Ptpn16/MKP-1 mRNAs, negative regulators of the MAP kinase pathway; and (iii) DEX decreased Cox mRNA levels. DEX also increased thrombospondin mRNA levels, which negatively regulate bone mass in vivo, as well as the adipocytic marker Fkbp51. These and other observations disclose novel gene targets, whose regulation by GCs in osteoblasts may shed light on and provide new therapeutic approaches to osteoporosis.

Differentiating osteoblasts in culture undergo a commitment stage, during which cobblestone-like cells grow to high density past confluency. In contrast to earlier proliferative stages, the cell cycle during this commitment stage is inhibited by glucocorticoids (GC). Chronic GC treatment also impedes mineral deposition if steroid administration commences early enough during commitment. This study defines a role for glycogen synthase kinase-3␤ (GSK3␤) and its target, c-Myc, in the GC-sensitive osteoblast persistent cell cycle. c-Myc levels decreased as cells reached confluence, but then increased during growth to high density. GC administration at this stage resulted in down-regulation of c-Myc. This was accompanied by GC-mediated attenuation of GSK3␤ Ser 9 inhibitory phosphorylation and increased GSK3␤ kinase activity. Down-regulation of c-Myc was attributable to enhanced Thr 58 phosphorylation, leading to accelerated degradation. In contrast, GC did not inhibit the c-Myc synthesis rate or the level of ␤-catenin, a transcriptional coactivator of c-myc. The attenuated cell cycle and the reduced c-Myc level were returned to control levels by specific inhibition of GSK3␤ using lithium chloride. These results suggest that tonal GSK3␤ repression at the cobblestone stage of osteoblast differentiation permits osteoblast growth to high density. GC interfere with this growth-permissive axis by GSK3␤ activation, resulting in c-Myc down-regulation and impediment of the G 1 /S cell cycle transition.