Growth hormone (GH) is important in the development and maintenance of bone; however, the IGF-dependent and -independent molecular pathways involved remain to be established. We used microarray analysis to evaluate GH signaling pathways in 4-wk-old GH-deficient mice following a single injection of GH (4 mg/kg body wt) or PBS (n = 6/group) at 6 or 24 h after treatment. Six thousand one hundred sixty genes were differentially expressed at P ≤ 0.05, and 17% of these genes were identified at both time points. Several of the genes differentially expressed were expressed sequence tags, and the remaining genes fell into 49 Gene Ontology categories. For subsequent studies, we focused on T-box (Tbx)3, a novel transcription factor, which increased more than twofold at both time points. Real-time RT-PCR analysis determined that pretreatment with IGF-binding protein-4 did not block GH-induced Tbx3 expression in vitro. Pretreatment with TNF-α blocked GH-induced Tbx3 expression. Tbx3 expression increased during osteoblast differentiation and following BMP-7 and Wnt3a treatment (P ≤ 0.05). Blocking Tbx3 expression by small interfering RNA decreased cell number and [ 3 H]Thymidine incorporation (P < 0.01). In conclusion, 1) GH caused acute changes in several novel genes, suggesting that many GH-induced signaling pathways and target genes remain to be discovered; 2) because Tbx3 expression is regulated in osteoblasts and blockage of Tbx3 expression decreased cell number and DNA synthesis, we propose that Tbx3 is an important determinant of osteoblast cell number.
Keywordsinsulin-like growth factor I; lit/lit mouse; signaling pathways Growth hormone (GH) is important in the development and maintenance of bone. This has been demonstrated in several experiments utilizing human and animal models that are GH deficient and/or treated with GH. In GH-deficient adults, decreased bone mineral density (BMD) can be corrected with exogenous GH treatment (20,38). In addition, GH treatment increases bone formation markers as well as serum concentrations of 19,38). We (27) and others (42) have demonstrated that mice deficient in GH production or action Copyright © 2006
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript exhibit significant deficits in body weight, femur length, and volumetric BMD. It is well known that GH may act directly on specific tissues or by binding to its receptors and stimulating the release of IGF-I. When GH binds to its receptors, JAK is phosphorylated and several pathways, including STAT, MAPK, are activated (16,31). Through these pathways, GH regulates the transcription of specific genes, such as IGF-I. Recent evidence has demonstrated that GH may also act independently of IGF-I in bone. In a previous study (27), we reported that the rate of gain in femur length and periosteal circumference during the postpubertal growth period are impaired to a greater extent in GH-deficient lit/lit mice compared with IGF-I knockout mice. Furthermore, previous published work has suggested an involv...