Impact of age and donor sites on bioactivities of tendon cells in autologous tenocyte implantation (OrthoATI™) for treatment of chronic tendinopathy.

OBJECTIVES: Autologous tenocyte implantation (OrthoATI™) therapy has demonstrated efficacy in treating patients with tendinopathy at various anatomical sites. This study evaluates the effect of patient age, gender, and tendon biopsy site on morphology, growth, and gene expression of autologous tendon cells used to treat chronic tendinopathy. METHODS: Patients undergoing OrthoATI™ for tendinopathies between 2020 and 2022 were initially treated by biopsies taken from patella tendon (PT) or palmaris longus tendon (PL). The biopsies were sent to a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) cell laboratory where tendon cells were isolated, cultured, and expanded for four to six weeks. Cell morphology was assessed using phase contrast microscopy. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) was utilized for gene expression analysis. Dichotomous results were compared between groups using x2 or Fisher's exact tests with no adjustment for multiple comparisons. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were utilized for the sex and age (<35y, 35-44y, 45-54y, >55y) analyses, respectively. All analyses were performed using IBM SPSS v27, and a two-tailed P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: 149 patients were included in the analysis. The PT was biopsied in 63 patients, and PL in 86 patients. There were no observer effects for age and gender between the PT and PL groups. There was no statistical significance between the PT and PL tendons for cell morphology, average cell population doubling time (PDT) (PT 83.9 vs PL 82.7 â€‹h, p â€‹= â€‹0.482), cellular yield (PT 16.2 vs PL 15.2 â€‹× â€‹106, p â€‹= â€‹0.099), and cell viability (PT 98.7 vs PL 99.0%, p â€‹= â€‹0.277). Additionally, ddPCR analyses showed no statistical significance found in tenogenic gene expression, including collagen type I (COL1, p â€‹= â€‹0.86), tenomodulin (TNMD, p â€‹= â€‹0.837) and scleraxis (SCX, p â€‹= â€‹0.331) between PT- and PL-derived tendon cells. An age stratification analysis found no effect on growth and gene expression. COL1 was found to be higher in males when compared to females (P â€‹< â€‹0.001), but otherwise no difference was seen in growth and gene expression in the gender analysis. No postbiopsy clinical complications were reported for either group. CONCLUSION: This study has shown that the growth and bioactivities of tendon cells from tendon biopsies for OrthoATI™ are not affected by tendon donor site and age. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.

Correction: Glucocorticoid impairs cell-cell communication by autophagy-mediated degradation of connexin 43 in osteocytes.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.9034.].

Endoplasmic reticulum mediates mitochondrial transfer within the osteocyte dendritic network.

Mitochondrial transfer plays a crucial role in the regulation of tissue homeostasis and resistance to cancer chemotherapy. Osteocytes have interconnecting dendritic networks and are a model to investigate its mechanism. We have demonstrated, in primary murine osteocytes with photoactivatable mitochondria (PhAM)floxed and in MLO-Y4 cells, mitochondrial transfer in the dendritic networks visualized by high-resolution confocal imaging. Normal osteocytes transferred mitochondria to adjacent metabolically stressed osteocytes and restored their metabolic function. The coordinated movement and transfer of mitochondria within the dendritic network rely on contact between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria. Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), a GTPase that tethers ER to mitochondria, predominantly mediates the transfer. A decline in Mfn2 expression with age occurs concomitantly with both impaired mitochondrial distribution and transfer in the osteocyte dendritic network. These data show a previously unknown function of ER-mitochondrial contact in mediating mitochondrial transfer and provide a mechanism to explain the homeostasis of osteocytes.

Sorting nexin 27 couples PTHR trafficking to retromer for signal regulation in osteoblasts during bone growth.

The parathyroid hormone 1 receptor (PTHR) is central to the process of bone formation and remodeling. PTHR signaling requires receptor internalization into endosomes, which is then terminated by recycling or degradation. Here we show that sorting nexin 27 (SNX27) functions as an adaptor that couples PTHR to the retromer trafficking complex. SNX27 binds directly to the C-terminal PDZ-binding motif of PTHR, wiring it to retromer for endosomal sorting. The structure of SNX27 bound to the PTHR motif reveals a high-affinity interface involving conserved electrostatic interactions. Mechanistically, depletion of SNX27 or retromer augments intracellular PTHR signaling in endosomes. Osteoblasts genetically lacking SNX27 show similar disruptions in PTHR signaling and greatly reduced capacity for bone mineralization, contributing to profound skeletal deficits in SNX27-knockout mice. Taken together, our data support a critical role for SNX27-retromer mediated transport of PTHR in normal bone development.

Glucocorticoid impairs cell-cell communication by autophagy-mediated degradation of connexin 43 in osteocytes.

Osteocytes comprising over 90% of the bone cell population are highly susceptible to the adverse effects of glucocorticoids (GC) administration. Here we observed that Dexamethasone (Dex) induces a robust cytoskeleton rearrangement and decreases Cx43 protein expression in osteocyte-like MLO-Y4 cells. Using a Dmp1Cre-mT/mG osteocyte ex vivo culture system, we found significant shortening of dendritic processes in primary osteocytes following Dex administration. Loss of dendritic processes is a consequence of reduced Cx43 connectivity upon Dex induced autophagy in both RFP-GFP-LC3B transfected MLO-Y4 cells and primary calvarial osteocytes from LC3GFP transgenic mice. Upon the induction of autophagy by Dex, Cx43 was internalized into autophagosome/autolysosomes and degraded by autophagy. The degradation was attenuated following lysosomal inhibition using chloroquine (CLQ) and suppression of autophagy by Atg5 silencing. Inhibition Akt-mTORC1 signaling by Dex induces autophagy subsequently resulting in Cx43 degradation.Activation of Akt phosphorylation by IGF-1 attenuated Dex induced autophagy and degradation of Cx43. Together, we demonstrated that GC impair osteocyte cell-cell connectivity via autophagy mediated degradation of Cx43 through inhibition of the Akt-mTORC1 signaling. This may account for the deleterious effect of GC-induced bone loss.

Disruption of the dynein-dynactin complex unveils motor-specific functions in osteoclast formation and bone resorption.

Osteoclastic bone resorption requires strict interplay between acidified carrier vesicles, motor proteins, and the underlying cytoskeleton in order to sustain the specialized structural and functional polarization of the ruffled border. Cytoplasmic dynein, a large processive mechanochemical motor comprising heavy, intermediate, and light chains coupled to the dynactin cofactor complex, powers unilateral motility of diverse cargos to microtubule minus-ends. We have recently shown that regulators of the dynein motor complex constitute critical components of the osteoclastic bone resorptive machinery. Here, by selectively modulating endogenous dynein activity, we show that the integrity of the dynein-dynactin motor complex is an essential requirement for both osteoclast formation and function. Systematic dissection of the osteoclast dynein-dynactin complex revealed that it is differentially localized throughout RANKL-induced osteoclast formation and activation, undergoing microtubule-coupled reorganization upon the establishment of cellular polarization. In osteoclasts actively resorbing bone, dynein-dynactin intimately co-localizes with the CAP-Gly domain-containing microtubule plus-end protein CLIP-170 at the resorptive front, thus orientating the ruffled border as a microtubule plus-end domain. Unexpectedly, disruption of the dynein-dynactin complex by exogenous p50/dynamitin expression retards osteoclast formation in vitro, owing largely to prolonged mitotic stasis of osteoclast progenitor cells. More importantly, loss of osteoclastic dynein activity results in a drastic redistribution of key intracellular organelles, including the Golgi and lysosomes, an effect that coincides with impaired cathepsin K secretion and diminished bone resorptive function. Collectively, these data unveil a previously unrecognized role for the dynein-dynactin motor complex in osteoclast formation and function, serving not only to regulate their timely maturation but also the delivery of osteolytic cargo that is essential to the bone resorptive process.

Tctex-1, a novel interaction partner of Rab3D, is required for osteoclastic bone resorption.

Vesicular transport along microtubules must be strictly regulated to sustain the unique structural and functional polarization of bone-resorbing osteoclasts. However, the molecular mechanisms bridging these vesicle-microtubule interactions remain largely obscure. Rab3D, a member of the Rab3 subfamily (Rab3A/B/C/D) of small exocytotic GTPases, represents a core component of the osteoclastic vesicle transport machinery. Here, we identify a new Rab3D-interacting partner, Tctex-1, a light chain of the cytoplasmic dynein microtubule motor complex, by a yeast two-hybrid screen. We demonstrate that Tctex-1 binds specifically to Rab3D in a GTP-dependent manner and co-occupies Rab3D-bearing vesicles in bone-resorbing osteoclasts. Furthermore, we provide evidence that Tctex-1 and Rab3D intimately associate with the dynein motor complex and microtubules in osteoclasts. Finally, targeted disruption of Tctex-1 by RNA interference significantly impairs bone resorption capacity and mislocalizes Rab3D vesicles in osteoclasts, attesting to the notion that components of the Rab3D-trafficking pathway contribute to the maintenance of osteoclastic resorptive function.