Glycosaminoglycans exhibit distinct interactions and signaling with BMP2 according to their nature and localization.

The role of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in modulating bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling represents a recent and underexplored area. Conflicting reports suggest a dual effect: some indicate a positive influence, while others demonstrate a negative impact. This duality suggests that the localization of GAGs (either at the cell surface or within the extracellular matrix) or the specific type of GAG may dictate their signaling role.

Heparan Sulfate Deficiency in Cartilage: Enhanced BMP-Sensitivity, Proteoglycan Production and an Anti-Apoptotic Expression Signature after Loading.

Osteoarthritis (OA) represents one major cause of disability worldwide still evading efficient pharmacological or cellular therapies. Severe degeneration of extracellular cartilage matrix precedes the loss of mobility and disabling pain perception in affected joints. Recent studies showed that a reduced heparan sulfate (HS) content protects cartilage from degradation in OA-animal models of joint destabilization but the underlying mechanisms remained unclear.

Epigenetic Mechanisms Mediating Cell State Transitions in Chondrocytes.

Epigenetic modifications play critical roles in regulating cell lineage differentiation, but the epigenetic mechanisms guiding specific differentiation steps within a cell lineage have rarely been investigated. To decipher such mechanisms, we used the defined transition from proliferating (PC) into hypertrophic chondrocytes (HC) during endochondral ossification as a model. We established a map of activating and repressive histone modifications for each cell type.

Murine Limb Explant Cultures to Assess Cartilage Development.

To investigate chondrocyte biology in an organized structure, limb explant cultures have been established that allow for the cultivation of the entire cartilaginous skeletal elements. In these organ cultures, the arrangement of chondrocytes in the cartilage elements and their interaction with the surrounding perichondrium and joint tissue are maintained. Chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation can thus be studied under nearly in vivo conditions.

Chondrocytes respond to an altered heparan sulfate composition with distinct changes of heparan sulfate structure and increased levels of chondroitin sulfate.

Heparan sulfate (HS) regulates the activity of many signaling molecules critical for the development of endochondral bones. Even so, mice with a genetically altered HS metabolism display a relatively mild skeletal phenotype compared to the defects observed in other tissues and organs pointing to a reduced HS dependency of growth-factor signaling in chondrocytes. To understand this difference, we have investigated the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) composition in two mouse lines that produce either reduced levels of HS (Ext1 mice) or HS lacking 2-O-sulfation (Hs2st1 mice).

A network of trans-cortical capillaries as mainstay for blood circulation in long bones.

Closed circulatory systems (CCS) underlie the function of vertebrate organs, but in long bones their structure is unclear, although they constitute the exit route for bone marrow (BM) leukocytes. To understand neutrophil emigration from BM, we studied the vascular system of murine long bones. Here we show that hundreds of capillaries originate in BM, cross murine cortical bone perpendicularly along the shaft and connect to the periosteal circulation.

Wnt5a is a transcriptional target of Gli3 and Trps1 at the onset of chondrocyte hypertrophy.

During endochondral ossification, the differentiation of proliferating into hypertrophic chondrocytes is a key step determining the pace of bone formation and the future length of the skeletal elements. A variety of transcription factors are expressed at the onset of hypertrophy coordinating the expression of different signaling molecules like Bmps, Ihh and Wnt proteins. In this study, we characterized the murine Wnt5a promoter and provide evidence that two alternative Wnt5a transcripts, Ts1 and Ts2, are differentially expressed in the developing skeletal elements.

Atoh8 acts as a regulator of chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation in endochondral bones.

Atonal homolog 8 (Atoh8) is a transcription factor of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) protein family, which is expressed in the cartilaginous elements of endochondral bones. To analyze its function during chondrogenesis we deleted Atoh8 in mice using a chondrocyte- (Atoh8flox/flox;Col2a1-Cre) and a germline- (Atoh8flox/flox;Prx1-Crefemale) specific Cre allele. In both strains, Atoh8 deletion leads to a reduced skeletal size of the axial and appendicular bones, but the stages of phenotypic manifestations differ.

Four-jointed knock-out delays renal failure in an ADPKD model with kidney injury.

Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease is characterised by the development of fluid-filled cysts in the kidneys which lead to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). In the majority of cases, the disease is caused by a mutation in the Pkd1 gene. In a previous study, we demonstrated that renal injury can accelerate cyst formation in Pkd1 knock-out (KO) mice.

Signaling systems affecting the severity of multiple osteochondromas.

Multiple osteochondromas (MO) syndrome is a dominant autosomal bone disorder characterized by the formation of cartilage-capped bony outgrowths that develop at the juxtaposition of the growth plate of endochondral bones. MO has been linked to mutations in either EXT1 or EXT2, two glycosyltransferases required for the synthesis of heparan sulfate (HS). The establishment of mouse mutants demonstrated that a clonal, homozygous loss of Ext1 in a wild type background leads to the development of osteochondromas.

Regulation of Calvarial Osteogenesis by Concomitant De-repression of GLI3 and Activation of IHH Targets.

Loss-of-function mutations in and cause craniosynostosis and reduced osteogenesis, respectively. In this study, we show that ligand, the receptor and transcription factors are differentially expressed in embryonic mouse calvaria osteogenic condensations. We show that in both and embryonic mice, the normal gene expression architecture is lost and this results in disorganized calvarial bone development.

Scramblase TMEM16F terminates T cell receptor signaling to restrict T cell exhaustion.

In chronic infection, T cells become hyporesponsive to antigenic stimulation to prevent immunopathology. Here, we show that TMEM16F is required to curb excessive T cell responses in chronic infection with virus. TMEM16F-deficient T cells are hyperactivated during the early phase of infection, exhibiting increased proliferation and cytokine production.

Involvement of Ca2+ Activated Cl- Channel Ano6 in Platelet Activation and Apoptosis.

Background/aims: The ubiquitously expressed Ca2+ Activated Cl- Channel Ano6 participates in the stimulation of cell membrane scrambling. Defective Ano6 underlies the Scott syndrome, an inherited bleeding disorder with impaired scrambling of plasma membrane phospholipids. At least in theory, the bleeding disorder of Scott syndrome may result from impaired platelet function.

Survival protein anoctamin-6 controls multiple platelet responses including phospholipid scrambling, swelling, and protein cleavage.

Scott syndrome is a rare bleeding disorder, characterized by altered Ca(2+)-dependent platelet signaling with defective phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure and microparticle formation, and is linked to mutations in the ANO6 gene, encoding anoctamin (Ano)6. We investigated how the complex platelet phenotype of this syndrome is linked to defective expression of Anos or other ion channels. Mice were generated with heterozygous of homozygous deficiency in Ano6, Ano1, or Ca(2+)-dependent KCa3.

Altered heparan sulfate structure in Glce(-/-) mice leads to increased Hedgehog signaling in endochondral bones.

One of the key regulators of endochondral ossification is Indian hedgehog (Ihh), which acts as a long-range morphogen in the developing skeletal elements. Previous studies have shown that the distribution and signaling activity of Ihh is regulated by the concentration of the extracellular glycosaminoglycan heparan sulfate (HS). An essential step during biosynthesis of HS is the epimerization of D-glucuronic to L-iduronic acid by the enzyme glucuronyl C5-epimerase (Hsepi or Glce).

Sweet on Hedgehogs: regulatory roles of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in Hedgehog-dependent cell proliferation and differentiation.

Morphogens exert their effects over long distances, typically by spreading from cell to cell to activate signal transduction in surrounding tissues in concentration-dependent manner. One example of a morphogen is the signaling molecule Hedgehog (Hh), which controls growth and patterning during development and has also been implicated in the progression of numerous cancers. To this end, accessory mechanisms that release, transport, and receive Hhs are required to elicit temporally and spatially specific responses in cells and tissues.

Anoctamin-6 controls bone mineralization by activating the calcium transporter NCX1.

Anoctamin-6 (Ano6, TMEM16F) belongs to a family of putative Ca(2+)-activated Cl(-) channels and operates as membrane phospholipid scramblase. Deletion of Ano6 leads to reduced skeleton size, skeletal deformities, and mineralization defects in mice. However, it remains entirely unclear how a lack of Ano6 leads to a delay in bone mineralization by osteoblasts.

Gene expression profiling reveals similarities between the spatial architectures of postnatal articular and growth plate cartilage.

Articular and growth plate cartilage are discrete tissues but arise from a common cartilaginous condensation and have comparable spatial architectures consisting of distinct layers of chondrocytes. To investigate similarities and differences between articular and growth plate cartilage and to explore transcriptional changes that occur during the onset of their divergence, we performed manual microdissection of 10-day-old rat proximal tibias, microarray analysis, bioinformatics, and real-time PCR to compare gene expression profiles in individual cartilage layers. We found that many genes that were spatially upregulated in the intermediate/deep zone of articular cartilage were also spatially upregulated in the resting zone of growth plate cartilage (overlap greater than expected by chance, P<0.

Signaling domain of Sonic Hedgehog as cannibalistic calcium-regulated zinc-peptidase.

Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) is a representative of the evolutionary closely related class of Hedgehog proteins that have essential signaling functions in animal development. The N-terminal domain (ShhN) is also assigned to the group of LAS proteins (LAS = Lysostaphin type enzymes, D-Ala-D-Ala metalloproteases, Sonic Hedgehog), of which all members harbor a structurally well-defined Zn2+ center; however, it is remarkable that ShhN so far is the only LAS member without proven peptidase activity. Another unique feature of ShhN in the LAS group is a double-Ca2+ center close to the zinc.

Inactivation of patched1 in murine chondrocytes causes spinal fusion without inflammation.

Objective: During development of the vertebrate skeleton, chondrocytes form a cartilage template that is gradually replaced by bone. Hormones of the Hedgehog (HH) family have been implicated in the ossification process, but their exact relationship to normal or pathogenic bone formation is unclear. This study was undertaken to establish a genetic tool that allows the discrete inactivation of genes in spinal chondrocytes, and to investigate in vivo how chondrocyte-specific ablation of the inhibitory HH receptor Patched 1 (Ptch1) affects skeleton integrity.

Reprint of: Heparan sulfate as a regulator of endochondral ossification and osteochondroma development.

Most elements of the vertebrate skeleton are formed by endochondral ossification. This process is initiated with mesenchymal cells that condense and differentiate into chondrocytes. These undergo several steps of differentiation from proliferating into hypertrophic chondrocytes, which are subsequently replaced by bone.

Cartilage explant cultures.

To investigate chondrocyte biology in an organized structure, limb explant cultures have been established that allow the cultivation of the entire cartilaginous skeletal elements. In these organ cultures, the arrangement of chondrocytes in the cartilage elements and their interaction with the surrounding perichondrium and joint tissue are maintained. Chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation can thus be studied under nearly in vivo conditions.

Heparan sulfate as a regulator of endochondral ossification and osteochondroma development.

Most elements of the vertebrate skeleton are formed by endochondral ossification. This process is initiated with mesenchymal cells that condense and differentiate into chondrocytes. These undergo several steps of differentiation from proliferating into hypertrophic chondrocytes, which are subsequently replaced by bone.

The multi zinc-finger protein Trps1 acts as a regulator of histone deacetylation during mitosis.

TRPS1, the gene mutated in human "Tricho-Rhino-Phalangeal syndrome," encodes a multi zinc-finger nuclear regulator of chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation. Here, we have identified a new function of Trps1 in controlling mitotic progression in chondrocytes. Loss of Trps1 in mice leads to an increased proportion of cells arrested in mitosis and, subsequently, to chromosome segregation defects.