Loss- and gain-of-function mutations in the broadly expressed gene Lrp5 affect bone formation causing osteoporosis and high bone mass, respectively. Although Lrp5 is viewed as a Wnt coreceptor osteoblast-specific disruption of β-Catenin does not affect bone formation. Instead, we show here that Lrp5 inhibits expression of Tph1, the rate-limiting biosynthetic enzyme for serotonin in enterochromaffin cells of the duodenum. Accordingly, decreasing serotonin blood levels normalizes bone formation and bone mass in Lrp5-deficient mice and gut- but not osteoblast-specific Lrp5 inactivation decreases bone formation in a β-Catenin–independent manner. Moreover, gut-specific activation of Lrp5, or inactivation of Tph1, increases bone mass and prevents ovariectomy-induced bone loss. Serotonin acts on osteoblasts through the Htr1b receptor and CREB to inhibit their proliferation. By identifying duodenum-derived serotonin as a hormone inhibiting bone formation in an Lrp5-dependent manner this study broadens our understanding of bone remodeling and suggests novel therapies to increase bone mass.

Although regulation of chondrogenesis and cartilage development by Wnt signaling is well established, the function of Wnt in the maintenance and destruction of cartilage remains largely unknown. Here we investigated the involvement and regulatory mechanisms of Wnt signaling in cartilage destruction. We found that interleukin-1␤, the primary pro-inflammatory cytokine involved in cartilage destruction, induces expression of Wnt-5a and -7a in primary culture articular chondrocytes. The level of ␤-catenin was also increased in chondrocytes of arthritic cartilage, suggesting the association of Wnt/␤-catenin signaling with arthritic cartilage destruction. In addition, our results show that Wnt-7a induces dedifferentiation and inhibits NO-induced apoptosis of primary culture articular chondrocytes. Wnt-7a induces dedifferentiation of articular chondrocytes by stimulating transcriptional activity of ␤-catenin, whereas NO-induced apoptosis is inhibited via the activation of cell survival signaling, such as phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and Akt, which block apoptotic signaling cascade. Our results collectively suggest that Wnt-7a is associated with cartilage destruction by regulating the maintenance of differentiation status and the apoptosis of articular chondrocytes via different mechanisms.

Accumulation of ␤-catenin and subsequent stimulation of ␤-catenin-T cell-factor (Tcf)/lymphoid-enhancerfactor (Lef) transcriptional activity causes dedifferentiation of articular chondrocytes, which is characterized by decreased type II collagen expression and initiation of type I collagen expression. This study examined the mechanisms of ␣-catenin degradation, the role of ␣-catenin in ␤-catenin signaling, and the physiological significance of ␣-catenin regulation of ␤-catenin signaling in articular chondrocytes. We found that both ␣-and ␤-catenin accumulated during dedifferentiation of chondrocytes by escaping from proteasomal degradation. ␤-Catenin degradation was ubiquitination-dependent, whereas ␣-catenin was proteasomally degraded in a ubiquitination-independent fashion. The accumulated ␣-and ␤-catenin existed as complexes in the cytosol and nucleus. The complex formation between ␣-and ␤-catenin blocked proteasomal degradation of ␣-catenin and also inhibited ␤-catenin-Tcf/Lef transcriptional activity and the suppression of type II collagen expression associated with ectopic expression of ␤-catenin, the inhibition of proteasome, or Wnt signaling. Collectively, our results indicate that ubiquitin-independent degradation of ␣-catenin regulates ␤-catenin signaling and maintenance of the differentiated phenotype of articular chondrocytes.␤-Catenin interacts with cadherin to participate in cell-cell adhesion and regulates gene expression by acting as a transcriptional co-activator (1, 2). In the absence of extracellular stimuli, cytosolic ␤-catenin is phosphorylated by glycogen synthase kinase-3␤, leading to its ubiquitination and subsequent degradation by the 26 S proteasome. However, extracellular stimuli, such as Wnt signaling, lead to the inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3␤, escape of ␤-catenin from ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic degradation, and subsequent cytosolic accumulation of ␤-catenin (3). The accumulated ␤-catenin translocates into the nucleus in association with members of the T cell-factor (Tcf) 1 /lymphoid-enhancer-factor (Lef) family of transcription factors, leading to stimulation or suppression of target gene transcription (2). As a transcriptional co-activator, ␤-catenin is involved in the regulation of several biological functions. Our group previously has shown that ␤-catenin regulates maintenance of differentiated phenotypes (4, 5) and expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (6) in chondrocytes by acting as a transcriptional co-activator. We have also shown that Wnt-7a causes dedifferentiation of chondrocytes characterized by suppression of type II collagen expression and the onset of type I collagen expression. Accumulation and stimulation of ␤-catenin transcriptional activity by Wnt-7a signaling is sufficient to cause chondrocyte dedifferentiation (4, 5).␤-Catenin signaling can be regulated by a variety of proteins. Cadherins regulate the transcriptional activity of ␤-catenin in a cell adhesion-independent manner (7, 8) via sequestration of ␤-catenin in the cytoplasm (9), whereas ␥-catenin ...

No abstract

Biomechanical remodeling of stroma by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) in early stages of cancer is critical for cancer progression, and mechanical cues such as extracellular matrix stiffness control cell differentiation and malignant progression. However, the mechanism by which CAF activation occurs in low stiffness stroma in early stages of cancer is unclear. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanism underlying CAF regulation by SPIN90 and microtubule acetylation under conditions of mechanically soft matrices corresponding to normal stromal rigidity. SPIN90 was downregulated in breast cancer stroma but not tumor, and this low stromal expression correlated with decreased survival in breast cancer patients. deficiency facilitated recruitment of mDia2 and APC complex to microtubules, resulting in increased microtubule acetylation. This increased acetylation promoted nuclear localization of YAP, which upregulated expression of myofibroblast marker genes on soft matrices. depletion enhanced tumor progression, and blockade of microtubule acetylation in CAF significantly inhibited tumor growth in mice. Together, our data demonstrate that loss of SPIN90-mediated microtubule acetylation is a key step in CAF activation in low stiffness stroma. Moreover, correlation among these factors in human breast cancer tissue supports the clinical relevance of SPIN90 and microtubule acetylation in tumor development. .