Approximately 10% of bone fractures do not heal satisfactorily, leading to significant clinical and socioeconomic implications. Recently, the role of macrophages in regulating bone marrow stem cell (BMSC) differentiation through the osteogenic pathway during fracture healing has attracted much attention.Methods: The tibial monocortical defect model was employed to determine the critical role of macrophage scavenger receptor 1 (MSR1) during intramembranous ossification (IO) in vivo. The potential functions and mechanisms of MSR1 were explored in a co-culture system of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), RAW264.7 cells, and BMSCs using qPCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, and RNA sequencing.Results: In this study, using the tibial monocortical defect model, we observed delayed IO in MSR1 knockout (KO) mice compared to MSR1 wild-type (WT) mice. Furthermore, macrophage MSR1 mediated PI3K/AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling increased ability to promote osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs in the co-culture system. We also identified proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC1α) as the target gene for macrophage MSR1-activated PI3K/AKT/GSK3β/β-catenin pathway in the co-culture system that facilitated M2-like polarization by enhancing mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation.Conclusion: Our findings revealed a previously unrecognized function of MSR1 in macrophages during fracture repair. Targeting MSR1 might, therefore, be a new therapeutic strategy for fracture repair.

BackgroundOsteosarcoma (OS) is a malignant tumor mainly occurring in young people. Due to the limited effective therapeutic strategies, OS patients cannot achieve further survival improvement. G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute the largest family of cell membrane receptors and consequently hold the significant promise for tumor imaging and targeted therapy. We aimed to explore the biological functions of Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 3 (S1PR3), one of the members of GPCRs family, in OS and the possibility of S1PR3 as an effective target for the treatment of osteosarcoma.MethodsThe quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blotting were used to analyze the mRNA and protein expressions. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8), colony formation assay and cell apoptosis assay were performed to test the cellular proliferation in vitro. Subcutaneous xenograft mouse model was generated to evaluate the functions of S1PR3 in vivo. RNA sequencing was used to compare gene expression patterns between S1PR3-knockdown and control MNNG-HOS cells. In addition, metabolic alternations in OS cells were monitored by XF96 metabolic flux analyzer. Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assay was used to explore the interaction between Yes-associated protein (YAP) and c-MYC. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was used to investigate the binding capability of PGAM1 and YAP or c-MYC. Moreover, the activities of promoter were determined by the luciferase reporter assay.FindingsS1PR3 and its specific ligand Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) were found elevated in OS, and the higher expression of S1PR3 was correlated with the poor survival rate. Moreover, our study has proved that the S1P/S1PR3 axis play roles in proliferation promotion, apoptosis inhibition, and aerobic glycolysis promotion of osteosarcoma cells. Mechanistically, the S1P/S1PR3 axis inhibited the phosphorylation of YAP and promoted the nuclear translocation of YAP, which contributed to the formation of the YAP–c-MYC complex and enhanced transcription of the important glycolysis enzyme PGAM1. Moreover, the S1PR3 antagonist TY52156 exhibited in vitro and in vivo synergistic inhibitory effects with methotrexate on OS cell growth.InterpretationOur study unveiled a role of S1P, a bioactive phospholipid, in glucose metabolism reprogram through interaction with its receptor S1PR3. Targeting S1P/S1PR3 axis might serve as a potential therapeutic target for patients with OS.FundThis research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (81472445 and 81672587).

Cellular metabolic reprogramming is the main characteristic of cancer cells and identification of targets using this metabolic pattern is extremely important to treat cancers, such as osteosarcoma (OS). In this study, SLIT2 and ROBO1 were upregulated in OS, and higher expression of ROBO1 was associated with worse overall survival rate. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that the SLIT2/ROBO1 axis promotes proliferation, inhibits apoptosis, and contributes to the Warburg effect in OS cells. Mechanistically, the SLIT2/ROBO1 axis exerted cancer-promoting effects on OS via activation of the SRC/ERK/c-MYC/PFKFB2 pathway. Taken together, the findings reveal a previously unappreciated function of SLIT2/ROBO1 signaling in OS, which is intertwined with metabolic alterations that promote cancer progression. Targeting the SLIT2/ROBO1 axis may be a potential therapeutic approach for patients with OS.