Effects of BMP-2 compound with fibrin on osteoporotic vertebral fracture healing in rats

Objectives:To investigate the effects of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) compound with fibrin on osteoporotic vertebral fracture healing in rats.Methods:For the present study 160 Specific-Pathogen Free 32-week-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were used. 120 rats were randomly divided in three groups (experimental, model and sham operation group- n=40 per group) and were ovariectomized to establish the osteoporosis model. 40 rats served as a control group without treatment. The expression of BMP-2 in the fracture zone at the 4^th, 6^th, 8^th, and 12^th weeks was detected by qRT-PCR. The expression of BALP and CTX-I in serum at the 12^th week was detected by Elisa.Results:At week 8, the morphology of the sham operation group was the same and the fracture healing occurred more slowly than in the other groups. At week 12, the expression of BMP-2 in the model group was significantly higher than that in the other three groups (p<0.05). At week 12, the maximum load, maximum strain, and elastic modulus of model group were significantly lower than those of the other three groups.Conclusions:BMP-2 compound with fibrin can enhance the timing and quality of bone fracture healing in rats.     

Combination of adeno-associated virus and adenovirus vectors expressing bone morphogenetic protein-2 produces enhanced osteogenic activity in immunocompetent rats

We have previously shown that gene therapy using adeno-associated virus (AAV) carrying bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) is a promising strategy for new bone formation in vivo in SD rats. However, it had a relatively low transduction efficiency. We investigate here whether enhanced osteogenic activity can be achieved without eliciting a severe immune response, using a cocktail of AAV-BMP2 and adenovirus (Ad)-BMP2 as a vector system. The muscles of SD rats were injected with either AAV-BMP2, Ad-BMP2, or an AAV-BMP2/Ad-BMP2 cocktail, and the in vivo bone formation was determined at eight weeks post-injection. Radiographic examination demonstrated that the addition of a low level of Ad-BMP2 to AAV-BMP2 produced significantly higher new bone formation than the use of AAV-BMP2 alone. Histological and immunohistological analysis revealed an enlarged bone-forming area and a long-term BMP2 expression, without pronounced infiltration of lymphocytes. Our results provide the first evidence that the introduction of a low level of adenovirus in vivo in immunocompetent subjects can greatly enhance AAV-mediated gene transfer, without inducing severe immune responses. This cocktail vector system may offer an attractive way of improving the efficiency of AAV-based gene delivery.     

In vitro bone formation using muscle-derived cells: a new paradigm for bone tissue engineering using polymer-bone morphogenetic protein matrices

Over 800,000 bone grafting procedures are performed in the United States annually, creating a demand for viable alternatives to autogenous bone, the grafting standard in osseous repair. The objective of this study was to examine the efficacy of a BMP-polymer matrix in inducing the expression of the osteoblastic phenotype and in vitro bone formation by muscle-derived cells. Specifically, we evaluated the ability of bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7), delivered from a poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLAGA) matrix, to induce the differentiation of cells derived from rabbit skeletal muscle into osteoblast-like cells and subsequently form mineralized tissue. Results confirmed that muscle-derived cells attached and proliferated on the PLAGA substrates. BMP-7 released from PLAGA induced the muscle-derived cells to increase bone marker expression and form mineralized cultures. These results demonstrate the efficacy of a BMP-polymer matrix in inducing the expression of the osteoblastic phenotype by muscle-derived cells and present a new paradigm for bone tissue engineering.     

Bone morphogenetic protein-2 enhances bone regeneration mediated by transplantation of osteogenically undifferentiated bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells

We have hypothesized that human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs), that are not osteogenically differentiated prior to implantation, would regenerate bone extensively in vivo once exogenous bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) was delivered to the implantation site. BMP-2 released from heparin-conjugated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (HCPLGA) scaffolds stimulates osteogenic differentiation of cultured BMMSCs. Upon implantation, undifferentiated BMMSCs on BMP-2-loaded HCPLGA scaffolds induce far more extensive bone formation than either undifferentiated BMMSCs or osteogenically differentiated BMMSCs on HCPLGA scaffolds. These BMP-2-loaded HCPLGA scaffolds could prove invaluable for in vivo regeneration of bone from undifferentiated human BMMSCs.     

Adeno-associated virus-mediated bone morphogenetic protein-4 gene therapy for in vivo bone formation

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is so far the most valuable vehicle for gene therapy because it has no association with immune response and human disease. The present study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of AAV-mediated BMP4 gene transfer for bone formation. In vitro study suggested that AAV-BMP4 vectors could transduce myoblast C2C12 cells and produce osteogenic BMP4. In vivo study demonstrated that new bone formation could be induced by direct injection of AAV-BMP4 into the skeletal muscle of immunocompetent rats. Histological analysis revealed that the newly formed bone was induced through endochondral mechanism. Immunohistochemical staining further demonstrated that AAV-BMP4 gene delivery could mediate long-term transduction, and the involvement of BMP4 expression was responsible for the endochondral ossification. This study is, to our knowledge, the first report in the field of AAV-based BMP gene transfer and should be promising for clinical orthopaedic applications.     

hBMP－2cDNA在COS细胞和小鼠肌肉中的表达

研究了骨形态发生蛋白ＢＭＰ－２ｃＤＮＡ在ＣＯＳ细胞和小鼠肌肉中的表达的情况,从ｐＳＰＳ６５ＢＭＰ－２质粒中回收ＢＭＰ－２ｃＤＮＡ,删除５＇端的非翻译序列,插入ｐＳＶＬ载体中,构建了含有ＢＭＰ－２全长编码序列的重组表达质粒ｐＳＶＬＢＭＰ－２。将表达质粒导入ＣＯＳ－７细胞中,细胞ＲＮＡ点杂交结果表明,转染ＢＭＰ－２基因的细胞内ＢＭＰ－２的ｍＲＮＡ水平明显升高;细胞培养上清的ＥＬＩＳＡ显示,转染ＢＭＰ－２ｃＤＮＡ后,细胞分泌产生的ＢＭＰ－２显著增加。小鼠实验发现,在肌肉内用注射法导入ＢＭＰ－２重组质粒后,局部组织内ＢＭＰ－２的ｍＲＮＡ转录水平也明显提高。     

Designs from the deep: marine organisms for bone tissue engineering

Current strategies for bone repair have accepted limitations and the search for synthetic graft materials or for scaffolds that will support ex vivo bone tissue engineering continues. Biomimetic strategies have led to the investigation of naturally occurring porous structures as templates for bone growth. The marine environment is rich in mineralizing organisms with porous structures, some of which are currently being used as bone graft materials and others that are in early stages of development. This review describes the current evidence available for these organisms, considers the relative promise of each and suggests potential future directions.     

The effect of trace elements on BMP-2, BMP-7 and STRO-1+ cells in hip replacement

To explore the correlation between the trace elements in the proximal femur and BMP-2, BMP-7 and STRO-1+ cells in hip replacement, and analyze the therapeutic effect of prosthesis loosening in clinic. Fifty-one patients undergone the first hip replacement in xxx hospital from August 2016 to August 2019 were selected as the study subjects, including 26 females and 25 males, aged 52–89 years. The bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were cultured in vitro for flow cytometry, and the string-1+ in BMSCs was detected and analyzed. After that, the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) and bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP-7) in the cells were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, the content of trace elements in the supernatant was detected by radioimmunoassay, and the collected data were analyzed statistically. In the analysis of the content of trace elements, it was found that the correlation between trace elements was dependent on the separation area, and all trace elements had no correlation with BMP2. Ca2⁺, Mg2⁺ were correlated with the level of BMP7 and Ca2⁺, VD3 was correlated with the percentage of STOR-1⁺ cells. Further analysis showed that the correlation between trace elements was dependent on bone mineral density (BMD) area, and there was a positive correlation between vitamin D3 (VD3), parathyroid hormone (PTH), zinc, and BMD in zone 7. To sum up, it is found that trace elements may be related to prosthesis loosening, which provides experimental basis for the treatment of prosthesis loosening later.     

Nobiletin promotes osteogenic differentiation of human osteoblastic cell line (MG-63) through activating the BMP-2/RUNX-2 signaling pathway

Nobiletin (NOB) is polymethoxy flavonoids, which plentifully there in Citrus depressa and they demonstrate numerous pharmacological effects. NOB has an anti-proliferative effect, attenuates ovalbumin-treated eosinophilic airway inflammation and Type II collagen treated arthritis. NOB noticeably inhibits bone resorption and renovates bone loss in mice model, but role of NOB in bone metabolism is unclear. Human bone is a important organ that sustains its homeostasis among bone resorpting osteoclasts and bone developing osteoblasts. The balances of among these two kind of cell outcomes are implicated in bone remodeling. The current study designed to explore possessions of NOB on differentiation and proliferation of MG-63 cells and contribution of morphogenetic protein signaling. Cell proliferation was analyzed by MTT, mineralization analysis by alizarin red staining and morphogenetic signaling protein by RT-PCR. No stimulus outcome of NOB on cell proliferation was found at days of 1, 3 and 7. Accumulation of calcium was augmented after that treatment of NOB. The mRNA expression of BMP-2, COL-I, ALP, OCN, RUNX2 and COL1A1 augmented markedly with NOB supplement. Hence, NOB can stimulate osteogenic differentiation of MG-63, almost certainly by promoting RUNX2 and BMP-2 signaling and this result might provide to its action on stimulation of osteoblast development, differentiation and augments of bone mass.     

Enhancement of bone repair with a helper-dependent adenoviral transfer of bone morphogenetic protein-2

Regional gene therapy, which involves the delivery of growth factors to a specific anatomic site, has the potential to enhance bone formation in clinical application. Helper-dependent adenoviral vectors, which have deleted all of the viral coding regions, have been shown to be safe and highly efficient with long-lasting transgene expression. In this study, we constructed a helper-dependent adenoviral vector producing bone morphogenetic protein-2 (AdHDBMP-2). The AdHDBMP-2 increased the alkaline phosphatase activity of W-20-17 cells in vitro. In addition, when AdHDBMP-2 infected rat bone marrow cells were implanted into the hindlimbs of SCID mice, orthotopic bone formation was shown at 2 weeks. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate bone formation with the helper-dependent adenoviral vector with the BMP-2 expression cassette. This type of gene therapy vector could prove to be highly useful for bone augmentation in patients with bone loss associated with trauma, revision total joint arthroplasty, or cancer.     

Inhibition of Rac1 promotes BMP-2-induced osteoblastic differentiation

Small G proteins of the Rho family are pivotal regulators of several signaling networks. The Ras homolog family (Rho) and one of its targets, Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK), participate in a wide variety of biological processes, including bone formation. A previous study has demonstrated that the ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 enhanced bone formation induced by recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) in vivo and in vitro. However, the effect of other Rho family members, such as Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1) and cell division cycle 42 (Cdc42), on bone formation remains unknown. In this study, we investigated whether Rac1 also participates in BMP-2-induced osteogenesis. Expression of a dominant-negative mutant of Rac1 enhanced BMP-2-induced osteoblastic differentiation in C2C12 cells, whereas a constitutively active mutant of Rac1 attenuated that effect. Knockdown of T-lymphoma invasion and metastasis 1 (Tiam1), a Rac-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor, enhanced BMP-2-induced alkaline phosphatase activity. Further, we demonstrated that BMP-2 stimulated Rac1 activity. These results indicate that the activation of Rac1 attenuates osteoblastic differentiation in C2C12 cells.     

Enhancement of bone formation by genetically-engineered bone marrow stromal cells expressing BMP-2, VEGF and angiopoietin-1

To explore the potential of combined delivery of osteogenic and angiogenic factors to bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) for repair of critical-size bone defects, we followed the formation of bone and vessels in tissue-engineered constructs in nude mice and rabbit bone defects upon introducing different combinations of BMP-2, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) to BMSCs with adenoviral vectors. Better osteogenesis and angiogenesis were found in co-delivery group of BMP-2, VEGF and angiopoietin-1 than any other combination of these factors in both animal models, indicating combined gene delivery of angiopoietin-1 and VEGF165 into a tissue-engineered construct produces an additive effect on BMP-2-induced osteogenesis.     

Dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol promotes BMP-2-induced osteoblastogenesis through its agonistic effects on estrogen receptor

Estrogen deficiency results in an imbalance between the levels of bone-resorping osteoclasts and bone-forming osteoblasts, eventually leading to overall bone loss. Dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (DHCA), a lignan compound originally isolated from Cucurbita moschata, has been shown to bind to estrogen receptor, and indeed exhibits various activities of estrogen, such as anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress effects. In this study, we tested whether synthetic DHCA could affect the BMP-2-induced osteoblastogenesis in vitro. In MC3T3-E1 cells, DHCA promoted BMP-2-induced differentiation of osteoblasts. Consistently, the expression of three osteoblastogenic genes known to be induced by BMP-2, ALP, osteocalcin and OPG, was up-regulated by DHCA treatment. DHCA was also shown to activate the production of RUNX2 by activating Smad1/5/9 and AMPK. Data from transient transfection assays suggested that DHCA might activate the estrogen receptor signaling pathway. Effects of DHCA on BMP-2-induced osteoblastogenesis were reduced when cells were treated with a specific siRNA to ERα or ERβ. Taken together, our results suggest that DHCA may be developed as an efficient therapeutic for osteoporosis by regulating osteoblastogenesis through its estrogenic effects.     

软骨寡聚基质蛋白过表达对BMP-2诱导骨髓间充质干细胞分化的影响

目的：研究软骨寡聚基质蛋白（cartilage oligomeric matrix protein,COMP）过表达对BMP-2诱导骨髓间充质干细胞成骨及成软骨分化的影响。方法：BMP-2诱导骨髓间充质干细胞分化,通过脂质体转染含人COMP基因的质粒使骨髓间充质干细胞过表达COMP,采用实时定量PCR和Western blotting分析COMP基因过表达、成骨相关基因Ⅰ型胶原、RUNX2、骨钙蛋白以及成软骨相关基因Ⅱ型胶原、SOX9、蛋白聚糖、X型胶原的表达变化;通过茜素红染色观察成骨终末阶段矿化结节的生成情况,阿利新蓝染色观察细胞基质蛋白多糖的合成情况。结果：质粒转染后骨髓间充质干细胞COMP基因蛋白和mRNA表达水平显著提高（P<0.05）。COMP基因过表达后,成骨标记基因RUNX2、Ⅰ型胶原（Col1a1）mRNA水平均显著低于对照组（P<0.05）,RUNX2、骨钙蛋白（Osteocalcin）蛋白表达水平明显低于对照组（P<0.05）,而成软骨标记基因SOX9、蛋白聚糖（Aggrecan）mRNA水平均显著高于对照组（P<0.05）,SOX9、Ⅱ型胶原（Col2a1）蛋白表达均明显多于对照组（P<0.05）。细胞成骨茜素红染色弱于对照组,而阿利新蓝染色强于对照组。过表达组细胞X型胶原（Col10a1）基因表达显著低于对照组（P<0.05）,结论：骨髓间充质干细胞COMP基因过表达可抑制BMP-2诱导其成骨分化,促进骨髓间充质干细胞成软骨分化,并抑制软骨细胞的成熟肥大,为软骨组织工程研究提供新的方向。     

Changes in bone morphogenetic protein receptor-IB localisation regulate osteogenic responses of human bone cells to bone morphogenetic protein-2

Cell responses to bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) depend on the expression and surface localisation of transmembrane receptors BMPR-IA, -IB and -II. The present study shows that all three antigens are readily detected in human bone cells. However, only BMPR-II was found primarily at the plasma membrane, whereas BMPR-IA was expressed equally in the cytoplasm and at the cell surface. Notably, BMPR-IB was mainly intracellular, where it was associated with a number of cytoplasmic structures and possibly the nucleus. Treatment with transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) caused rapid translocation of BMPR-IB to the cell surface, mediated via the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and protein kinase C (PKC) pathways. The TGF-β1-induced increase in surface BMPR-IB resulted in significantly elevated BMP-2 binding and Smad1/5/8 phosphorylation, although the receptor was subsequently internalised and the functional response to BMP-2 consequently down-regulated. The results show, for the first time, that BMPR-IB is localised primarily in intracellular compartments in bone cells and that TGF-β1 induces rapid surface translocation from the cytoplasm to the cell surface, resulting in increased sensitivity of the cells to BMP-2.     

Enhancement of ectopic bone formation by bone morphogenetic protein-2 delivery using heparin-conjugated PLGA nanoparticles with transplantation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells

This study was performed to determine if a combination of previously undifferentiated bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) and exogenous bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) delivered via heparin-conjugated PLGA nanoparticles (HCPNs) would extensively regenerate bone in vivo. In vitro testing found that the HCPNs were able to release BMP-2 over a 2-week period. Human BMMSCs cultured in medium containing BMP-2-loaded HCPNs for 2 weeks differentiated toward osteogenic cells expressing alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteopontin (OPN) and osteocalcin (OCN) mRNA, while cells without BMP-2 expressed only ALP. In vivo testing found that undifferentiated BMMSCs with BMP-2-loaded HCPNs induce far more extensive bone formation than either implantation of BMP-2-loaded HCPNs or osteogenically differentiated BMMSCs. This study demonstrates the feasibility of extensive in vivo bone regeneration by transplantation of undifferentiated BMMSCs and BMP-2 delivery via HCPNs. Sung Eun Kim and Oju Jeon equally contributed to this work