TGF-11 is locally produced by osteoblasts and accumulates abundantly in bone matrix tissue (1-3). This local cytokine plays an important role as a "coupling factor" in bone remodeling (4 -7). We (8, 9) previously demonstrated that TGF-1 is a potent activator of AP-1, a transcriptional factor that is a heterodimer of FOS and JUN proteins, in mouse osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. AP-1 activates the transcription of target genes by binding to specific promoter elements called TRE. In fact, several studies (10 -16) have suggested that AP-1 is a regulatory factor in bone metabolism. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate the mechanism by which AP-1 regulates the metabolism of TGF-1-treated bone cells, which regulation may occur in an autocrine and/or paracrine fashion.1␣-25-(OH) 2 D 3 also is an important systemic hormone in bone metabolism and regulates transcriptionally the expression of several genes involved in the differentiation of osteoblastic cells (17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). Many studies (20 -26) have shown that the hormone binds to its receptor, VDR, in the cell nucleus and acts via binding of this complex to the VDR response element. This VDR-dependent action is referred to as the "genomic action" of the hormone. On the other hand, other recent studies (27-37) have suggested that the hormone is also able to induce several biological activities via protein kinase C, ceramide signaling pathways, and via an increase in the intracellular calcium concentration, which are called "nongenomic action."Several investigators (21-24) have demonstrated negative regulation between AP-1 and VDR of the transcriptional activity of osteocalcin and collagen genes, both of which are involved in bone formation. However, positive regulation by 1␣-25-(OH) 2 D 3 of AP-1 transcriptional activity in osteoblastic cells has not been demonstrated in detail. Therefore, it is of interest to explore the possibility of 1␣-25-(OH) 2 D 3 positive regulation of AP-1 transcriptional activity via "genomic" or "nongenomic" action.In this regard, we investigated in the present study the regulation by 1␣-25-(OH) 2 D 3 of TGF-1-induced AP-1 transcriptional activity in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. As a result, we demonstrated the presence of 1␣-25-(OH) 2 D 3 synergism toward TGF-1-induced AP-1 transcriptional activity via genomic action. This demonstration suggests the presence of a novel positive regulation by 1␣-25-(OH) 2 D 3 of AP-1 transcriptional activity in osteoblastic cells via the VDR-dependent pathway (genomic action).
MATERIALS AND METHODSReagents-Human recombinant TGF-1 was purified to homogeneity (Ͼ98.9%, determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis: King Brewer, Kakogawa, Japan). 1␣-25-(OH) 2 D 3 , 24,25-(OH) 2 D 3 , and 22-oxa-1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 (OCT) were kindly provided by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan). ␣-MEM was obtained from Flow Laboratories (McLean, VA). FCS was from HyClone (Logan, UT). 5Ј-[␣-32 P]dCTP megaprime DNA labeling system and [␥-32 P]ATP were purchased from Amersham...