No abstract

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), which have been shown to be heparin-binding proteins, induce osteoblast differentiation in mesenchymal cells. In the present study, we examined the effects of heparin on the BMP activities in C2C12 myoblasts. Heparin dose dependently enhanced the osteoblast differentiation induced by not only homodimers of BMP-2 or BMP-4 but also heterodimers of BMP-2/6 or BMP-2/7. However, the osteoblast differentiation induced by the constitutively active BMPR-IA, a functional BMP type I receptor, was not affected by heparin. Heparan sulfate and dextran sulfate also enhanced the BMP-2 activity, although the chemically desulfated heparin-derivatives have lost this stimulatory capacity. Heparin dose-dependently suppressed the accumulation of BMP-2 from the culture media into the cell layer or BMPR-IA, and retained a large amount of BMP-2 in the culture media. The biological activity of BMP-2, which was evaluated using a BMP-responsive reporter gene expression, was prolonged in the presence of heparin. Taken together, these results suggest that sulfated polysaccharides enhance the biological activity of both homodimers and heterodimers of BMPs by continuously serving the ligands to their signaling receptors expressed on cell membranes. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs)1 were originally identified as unique in demineralized bone matrix that could induce ectopic bone formation when implanted into muscular tissues (1, 2). More than 15 members of BMPs have been identified, and they are members of the TGF-␤ superfamily (3-7). They are classified into several BMP subfamilies based on their homology within the mature domains; the BMP-2 and BMP-4 subfamily, the BMP-5, BMP-6, BMP-7 (also called OP-1) and BMP-8 subfamily, the GDF-5, GDF-6 (BMP-13), and GDF-7 (BMP-12) subfamily, and the BMP-3 and GDF-10 (BMP-3b) subfamily (3-7). Most BMPs are first synthesized in large inactive preproproteins. They form homodimers or heterodimers via a disulfide bond in the mature domain, and then are secreted as active dimers after proteolytic processing (3-7). Several recombinant proteins of BMP dimers were reported to be active in an ectopic bone formation assay. Some heterodimers were shown to be more potent than each homodimer (8 -11). Several lines of evidence suggest that BMPs are key molecules for normal skeletal development in vertebrates (3, 5-7, 12). We previously reported that BMP-2 inhibits myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts, and converts their differentiation pathway into that of osteoblast lineage cells (13). Both the ectopic bone-inducing activity and the osteoblast differentiation-inducing activity appear to be unique for BMPs among members of the TGF-␤ superfamily.Signaling of BMPs is initiated by binding to the specific transmembrane receptors, type I and type II serine/threonine kinase receptors (6, 12, 14 -16). The type I receptors are activated by the ligand bound-type II receptors, and then phosphorylate Smad proteins as substrates in the cytoplasm. The phosphorylated Smad forms a complex ...

Previous studies have provided the biological basis for the therapeutic use of enamel matrix derivative (EMD) at sites of periodontal regeneration. A purpose of this study is to determine effects of EMD on cell growth, osteoblastic differentiation and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) production in human periodontal ligament cells (HPLC). We also examined participation of endogenous IGF-I and TGF-beta 1 with EMD-stimulated cell growth in these cells. HPLCs used in this study were treated with EMD alone or in combination with antihuman IGF-I antibody (anti-hIGF-I) or anti-hTGF-beta 1, recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3[1,25(OH)2D3], rhTGF-beta 1 or rhIGF-I. After each treatment, cell growth, the production of IGF-I and TGF-beta 1 and the expression of osteoblastic phenotypes were evaluated. EMD stimulated cell growth in dose-dependent and time-dependent manners. EMD was also stimulated to express IGF-I and TGF-beta 1 at protein and mRNA levels. The EMD-stimulated cell growth was partially suppressed by cotreatment with anti-hIGF-I or anti-hTGF-beta 1, and cell growth was also stimulated by treatment with rhIGF-I or rhTGF-beta 1. rhBMP-2 stimulated alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity and ALPase mRNA expression, and 1,25(OH)2D3 stimulated ALPase and osteocalcin mRNA expression. However, EMD showed no effect on the osteoblastic phenotypes expression. These results demonstrated that EMD has no appreciable effect on osteoblastic differentiation, however it stimulates cell growth and IGF-I and TGF-beta 1 production in HPLC, and that these endogenous growth factors partially relate to the EMD-stimulated cell growth in HPLC.

Human periodontal ligament cells activated with inflammatory factors such as IL-1beta and PGE2 may directly stimulate osteoclastogenesis through RANKL, which is stimulated to express by these factors.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) induce ectopic bone formation in muscle tissue in vivo and convert myoblasts such that they differentiate into osteoblastic cells in vitro. We report here that constitutively active Smad1 induced osteoblastic differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts in cooperation with Smad4 or Runx2. In floxed Smad4 mice-derived cells, Smad4 ablation partially suppressed BMP-4-induced osteoblast differentiation. In contrast, the BMP-4-induced inhibition of myogenesis was lost by Smad4 ablation and restored by Smad4 overexpression. A nuclear zinc finger protein, E4F1, was identified as a possible component of the Smad4 complex that suppresses myogenic differentiation in response to BMP signaling. In the presence of Smad4, E4F1 stimulated the expression of Ids. Taken together, these findings suggest that the Smad signaling pathway may play a dual role in the BMP-induced conversion of myoblasts to osteoblastic cells.