Runx2 and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)–Akt signaling play important roles in osteoblast and chondrocyte differentiation. We investigated the relationship between Runx2 and PI3K-Akt signaling. Forced expression of Runx2 enhanced osteoblastic differentiation of C3H10T1/2 and MC3T3-E1 cells and enhanced chondrogenic differentiation of ATDC5 cells, whereas these effects were blocked by treatment with IGF-I antibody or LY294002 or adenoviral introduction of dominant-negative (dn)–Akt. Forced expression of Runx2 or dn-Runx2 enhanced or inhibited cell migration, respectively, whereas the enhancement by Runx2 was abolished by treatment with LY294002 or adenoviral introduction of dn-Akt. Runx2 up-regulated PI3K subunits (p85 and p110β) and Akt, and their expression patterns were similar to that of Runx2 in growth plates. Treatment with LY294002 or introduction of dn-Akt severely diminished DNA binding of Runx2 and Runx2-dependent transcription, whereas forced expression of myrAkt enhanced them. These findings demonstrate that Runx2 and PI3K-Akt signaling are mutually dependent on each other in the regulation of osteoblast and chondrocyte differentiation and their migration.
Core-binding factor beta (CBFbeta, also called polyomavirus enhancer binding protein 2beta (PEBP2B)) is associated with an inversion of chromosome 16 and is associated with acute myeloid leukemia in humans. CBFbeta forms a heterodimer with RUNX1 (runt-related transcription factor 1), which has a DNA binding domain homologous to the pair-rule protein runt in Drosophila melanogaster. Both RUNX1 and CBFbeta are essential for hematopoiesis. Haploinsufficiency of another runt-related protein, RUNX2 (also called CBFA1), causes cleidocranial dysplasia in humans and is essential in skeletal development by regulating osteoblast differentiation and chondrocyte maturation. Mice deficient in Cbfb (Cbfb(-/-)) die at midgestation, so the function of Cbfbeta in skeletal development has yet to be ascertained. To investigate this issue, we rescued hematopoiesis of Cbfb(-/-) mice by introducing Cbfb using the Gata1 promoter. The rescued Cbfb(-/-) mice recapitulated fetal liver hematopoiesis in erythroid and megakaryocytic lineages and survived until birth, but showed severely delayed bone formation. Although mesenchymal cells differentiated into immature osteoblasts, intramembranous bones were poorly formed. The maturation of chondrocytes into hypertrophic cells was markedly delayed, and no endochondral bones were formed. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and reporter assays showed that Cbfbeta was necessary for the efficient DNA binding of Runx2 and for Runx2-dependent transcriptional activation. These findings indicate that Cbfbeta is required for the function of Runx2 in skeletal development.
Runx2 is an essential transcription factor for osteoblast differentiation. However, the functions of Runx2 in postnatal bone development remain to be clarified. Introduction of dominant-negative (dn)-Runx2 did not inhibit Col1a1 and osteocalcin expression in mature osteoblastic cells. In transgenic mice that expressed dn-Runx2 in osteoblasts, the trabecular bone had increased mineralization, increased volume, and features of compact bone, and the expression of major bone matrix protein genes was relatively maintained. After ovariectomy, neither osteolysis nor bone formation was enhanced and bone was relatively conserved. In wild-type mice, Runx2 was strongly expressed in immature osteoblasts but downregulated during osteoblast maturation. These findings indicate that the maturity and turnover rate of bone are determined by the level of functional Runx2 and Runx2 is responsible for bone loss in estrogen deficiency, but that INTRODUCTIONBone is composed of compact bone and cancellous bone. In long bones, the shaft (cortical bone) consists of compact bone, and the inside of the shaft (trabecular bone), which is a threedimensional lattice of branching bony spicules, consists of cancellous bone. Compact bone is mature bone, because it is composed of densely packed, highly organized collagen fibrils with high mineralization, and is relatively resistant to osteolysis. In contrast, cancellous bone is less mature, because it is composed of loosely organized collagen fibrils with low mineralization, and it is easily resorbed and plays an important role in calcium homeostasis (Marks and Odgren, 2002). Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) is a transcription factor that belongs to the Runx family and is involved in many aspects of skeletal development (Komori, 2005). Upon forming a heterodimer with core binding factor  (Cbf), Runx2 acquires DNA-binding activity and regulates transcriptional activity (Kundu et al., 2002;Miller et al., 2002;Yoshida et al., 2002;Kanatani et al., 2006). There are two Runx2 isoforms, type I Runx2 and type II Runx2, which have different N-termini, and type I Runx2 is more dependent on Cbfb than type II Runx2 for their functional activities (Kanatani et al., 2006). Runx2-deficient mice lack osteoblasts and show a complete lack of bone formation, demonstrating that Runx2 is essential for osteoblast differentiation (Komori et al., 1997;Otto et al., 1997). Runx2 also plays important roles in chondrocyte maturation, maintenance of the chondrocyte phenotype, and vascular invasion into cartilage (Komori, 2005;Zelzer et al., 2001). Furthermore, Runx2 regulates RANKL and OPG expression stimulating osteoclast differentiation (Enomoto et al., 2003). These findings indicate that Runx2 functions as a key molecule in skeletal development.The DNA-binding sites of Runx2 in major bone matrix protein genes including the Col1a1, osteopontin, bone sialoprotein, and osteocalcin genes, have been identified, and Runx2 induced the expression of these genes or activated their promoters (Ducy et al., 1997(Ducy et...
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