The intracellular signaling events controlling human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) differentiation into osteoblasts are not entirely understood. We recently demonstrated that contact with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins is sufficient to induce osteogenic differentiation of hMSC through an ERKdependent pathway. We hypothesized that FAK signaling pathways provide a link between activation of ERK 1/2 by ECM, and stimulate subsequent phosphorylation of the Runx2/Cbfa-1 transcription factor that controls osteogenic gene expression. We plated hMSC on purified collagen I (COLL-I) and vitronectin (VN) in the presence or absence of FAK-specific siRNA, and assayed for phosphorylation of Runx2/Cbfa-1 as well as expression of established osteogenic differentiation markers (bone sialoprotein-2, osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase, calcium deposition, and spectroscopically determined mineral:matrix ratio). We found that siRNA treatment reduced FAK mRNA levels by >40% and decreased ECM-mediated phosphorylation of FAK Y397 and ERK 1/2. Serine phosphorylation of Runx2/Cbfa-1 was significantly reduced after 8 days in treated cells. Finally, FAK inhibition blocked osterix transcriptional activity and the osteogenic differentiation of hMSC, as assessed by lowered expression of osteogenic genes (RT-PCR), decreased alkaline phosphatase activity, greatly reduced calcium deposition, and a lower mineral:matrix ratio after 28 days in culture. These results suggest that FAK signaling plays an important role in regulating ECMinduced osteogenic differentiation of hMSC.

The laminin family of proteins is critical for managing a variety of cellular activities including migration, adhesion, and differentiation. In bone, the roles of laminins in controlling osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) are unknown. We report here that laminin-5 is found in bone and expressed by hMSC. hMSC isolated from bone synthesize laminin-5 and adhere to exogenous laminin-5 through ␣3␤1 integrin. Adhesion to laminin-5 activates extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) within 30 min and leads to phosphorylation of the osteogenic transcription factor Runx2/CBFA-1 within 8 d. Cells plated on laminin-5 for 16 d express increased levels of osteogenic marker genes, and those plated for 21 d deposit a mineralized matrix, indicative of osteogenic differentiation. Addition of the ERK inhibitor PD98059 mitigates these effects. We conclude that contact with laminin-5 is sufficient to activate ERK and to stimulate osteogenic differentiation in hMSC. INTRODUCTIONHuman mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) are multipotent cells found within the bone marrow and periosteum (Barry and Murphy, 2004). Typically they differentiate into chondrogenic, adipogenic, or osteogenic lineages, but recent evidence suggests that hMSC can also express phenotypic characteristics of endothelial, neural, smooth muscle, skeletal myoblast, and cardiac myocyte cells (Pittenger and Martin, 2004). The mechanisms governing hMSC differentiation are not well understood, but the ability of these cells to self renew and develop into numerous tissues makes their potential use in clinical applications quite promising.Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are well-known regulators of multiple cellular functions, including differentiation. The laminin (Ln) family of ECM proteins are ubiquitously expressed but are especially abundant in the basement membrane of many epithelial and endothelial tissues, where they mediate cell attachment, migration, and tissue organization in conjunction with other ECM proteins (Malinda and Kleinman, 1996). Each laminin molecule is a heterotrimer, composed of an ␣-, ␤-, and ␥-subunit. The subunits share homology with one another and upon combining through disulfide bonds form an asymmetric crosslike structure with one long and three short arms (Colognato and Yurchenco, 2000). The Ln-5 isoform is composed of ␣3, ␤3, and ␥2 subunits. Expression of the ␥2 subunit has only been found in Ln-5, whereas the ␣3 subunit is found in both Ln-6 and Ln-7. Ln-5 is bound by ␣2␤1, ␣3␤1, ␣6␤1, and ␣6␤4 integrin receptors (Decline and Rousselle, 2001), all of which are found in hMSC (Pittenger et al., 1999). The role of Ln family members in osteogenic differentiation is not known (Roche et al., 1999), though expression of the ␥2 chain has been previously detected in bone marrow (Siler et al., 2002).Ln-5 is expressed in distinct temporal and spatial patterns in developing epithelial tissues and influences tissue compartmentalization and cellular phenotypes from early embryonic development onward (Aberdam et al., 1994;Ti...

Adhesion to the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins collagen I and vitronectin is sufficient to drive human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) into an osteogenic differentiation pathway, but the mechanisms underlying this stimulation are not well understood. We found that addition of β 1 and α v β 3 integrin blocking antibodies inhibited ECM-induced ERK activation, while addition of the MEK inhibitor PD98059 blocked ERK activation, serine phosphorylation of the osteogenic transcription factor runx2/cbfa-1, osteogenic gene expression, and calcium deposition. These results suggest that ERK plays an important role in driving the ECM-induced osteogenic differentiation of hMSC.

Human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) differentiation into osteoblasts and the signaling events involved are poorly understood. We recently established that contact with specific extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, in particular laminin-5, is sufficient to induce an osteogenic phenotype in hMSC through an extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK)-dependent pathway. Activation of ERK 1/2 by laminin-5 induces phosphorylation of the runx2/cbfa-1 transcription factor that controls osteogenic gene expression. We hypothesized that focal adhesion kinase (FAK) mediated signaling pathways supply a link between cell surface integrin-ECM binding and activation of ERK 1/2, and that laminin-5 promotes its osteogenic effects through this pathway. To test this hypothesis, we plated hMSC on a laminin-5 matrix in the presence or absence of FAK-specific small inhibitory RNAs (siRNA), and assayed for phosphorylation of runx2/cbfa-1 as well as expression of established osteogenic differentiation markers (bone sialoprotein, osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase, calcium deposition, and mineral:matrix ratio). We found that siRNA treatment reduced total endogenous FAK protein by approximately 40%, and reduced FAK phosphorylation on Y397 by approximately 33% in cells plated on laminin-5 for 30 min. SiRNA treated cells exhibited a decrease in ERK 1/2 phosphorylation after 1 h, and reduced serine/threonine phosphorylation of Runx2/Cbfa-1 after 8 days. Finally, FAK inhibition blocked osteogenic differentiation of hMSC, as assessed by lowered expression of osteogenic genes (RT-PCR), decreased alkaline phosphatase activity, greatly reduced calcium deposition, and a lower mineral:matrix ratio after 28 days in culture. These results establish FAK as an important mediator of laminin-5-induced osteogenic differentiation of hMSC.

One of the hallmark events regulating the process of osteogenesis is the transition of undifferentiated human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) found in the bone marrow into mineralized-matrix producing osteoblasts (hOSTs) through mechanisms that are not entirely understood. With recent developments in mass spectrometry and its potential application to the systematic definition of the stem cell proteome, proteins that govern cell fate decisions can be identified and tracked during this differentiation process. We hypothesize that protein profiling of hMSCs and hOSTs will identify potential osteogenic marker proteins associated with hMSC commitment and hOST differentiation. To identify markers for each cell population, we analyzed the expression of hMSC proteins and compared them to that of hOST by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and two-dimensional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (2D LC-MS/MS). The 2D LC-MS/MS data sets were analyzed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Only 34% of the spots in 2D gels were found in both cell populations; of those that differed between populations, 65% were unique to hOST cells. Of the 755 different proteins identified by 2D LCMS/ MS in both cell populations, two sets of 247 and 158 proteins were found only in hMSCs and hOST cells, respectively. Differential expression of some of the identified proteins was further confirmed by Western blot analyses. Substantial differences in clusters of proteins responsible for calcium- based signaling and cell adhesion were found between the two cell types. Osteogenic differentiation is accompanied by a substantial change in the overall protein expression profile of hMSCs. This study, using gene ontology analysis, reveals that these changes occur in clusters of functionally related proteins. These proteins may serve as markers for identifying stem cell differentiation into osteogenic fates because they promote differentiation by mechanisms that remain to be defined.