Inflammatory cytokines (IL-1alpha, TNF-alpha) and LPS modulate the Ca2+ signaling pathway in osteoblasts.

Locally derived growth factors and cytokines in bone play a crucial role in the regulation of bone remodeling, i.e., bone formation and bone resorption processes. We studied the effect of interleukin (IL)-1alpha, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the hormone-activated Ca2+ message system in the osteoblastic cell line UMR-106 and in osteoblastic cultures derived from neonatal rat calvariae. In both cell preparations, IL-1alpha, TNF-alpha, and LPS did not alter basal intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) but attenuated Ca2+ transients evoked by parathyroid hormone (PTH) and PGE2 in a dose (1-100 ng/ml)- and time (8-24 h)-dependent fashion. The cytokines modulated hormonally induced Ca2+ influx (estimated by using Mn2+ as a surrogate for Ca2+) as well as Ca2+ mobilization from intracellular stores. The latter was linked to suppressed production of hormonally induced inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate. The effect of cytokines on [Ca2+]i was abolished by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor herbimycin A (50 ng/ml). The cytokine's effect was, however, independent of nitric oxide (NO) production, since NO donors (sodium nitroprusside) as well as permeable cGMP analogs augment, rather than attenuate, hormonally induced Ca2+ transients in osteoblasts. Given the stimulatory role of cytokines on NO production in osteoblasts, the disparate effects of cytokines and NO on the Ca2+ signaling pathway may serve an autocrine/paracrine mechanism for modulating the effect of calciotropic hormones on bone metabolism.

Cell-matrix interaction in bone: type I collagen modulates signal transduction in osteoblast-like cells.

Cell interaction with extracellular matrix (ECM) modulates cell growth and differentiation. By using in vitro culture systems, we tested the effect of type I collagen (Coll-I) on signal transduction mechanisms in the osteosarcoma cell line UMR-106 and in primary cultures from neonatal rat calvariae. Cells were cultured for 72 h on Coll-I gel matrix and compared with control cells plated on plastic surfaces. Agonist-dependent and voltage-dependent rises in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i; measured by fura 2 fluorometry) were significantly blunted in cells cultured on Coll-I compared with cells grown on plastic. In UMR-106 cells, the collagen matrix effect was mimicked by 24-h incubation with soluble Coll-I or short peptides containing the arginine-glycine-aspartate motif. Accumulation of cellular adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) stimulated by parathyroid hormone, cholera toxin, and forskolin was augmented (50-150%) in cells plated on Coll-I vs. control. The collagen effect on both [Ca2+]i- and adenylate cyclase-signaling pathways in UMR-106 cells was abrogated in the presence of protein kinase C (PKC) depletion or inhibition. Also, Coll-I induced a twofold increase in membrane-bound PKC without changing cytosolic PKC activity. Thus, by altering PKC activity, Coll-I modulates the [Ca2+]i- and cAMP-signaling pathways in osteoblasts. This, in turn, may influence bone remodeling processes.

Interleukin-6 attenuates agonist-mediated calcium mobilization in murine osteoblastic cells.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine which is made by osteoblasts and has diverse effects on bone metabolism. We studied the interaction of IL-6 with the Ca2+ and cAMP signaling systems in the osteoblastic cell line UMR-106 and in primary osteoblastic cultures derived from neonatal rat calvariae. IL-6 did not alter basal intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) but inhibited Ca2+ transients induced by parathyroid hormone (PTH), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and endothelin-1 in both dose- (100-400 U/ml) and time- (4-48 h) dependent manners. The effect of the cytokine was abolished by the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, herbimycin A (50 ng/ml). The IL-6 effect on the Ca2+ message system was related to suppressed production of hormonally induced inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate and inhibition of Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. Hormonally induced calcium entry pathways (estimated by using Mn2+ as a surrogate for Ca2+) were not, however, altered by the cytokine. IL-6 did not modulate cAMP generation in osteoblasts. With respect to osteoblast function, IL-6, although having no effect on cell proliferation by itself, greatly enhanced the antiproliferative effect of PGE2 and PTH. Because the production of IL-6 in osteoblasts is stimulated by calciotropic hormones (e.g., PTH and PGE2), the suppressive effect of the cytokine on hormonally induced Ca2+ transients may serve as an autocrine/paracrine mechanism for modulating the effect of hormones on bone metabolism.

1,25(OH)2D3 blunts hormone-elevated cytosolic Ca2+ in osteoblast-like cells.

Cytosolic free calcium ([Ca2+]i) is an important regulator of bone cell physiology. We studied the interaction of vitamin D metabolites on the hormonal-activated Ca message system in the osteoblastic cell line UMR-106. The acute rise in [Ca2+]i induced by different calciotropic hormones [parathyroid hormone, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)] was dose dependently blunted by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D3; half-maximal inhibitory concn approximately 5 x 10(-11) M] and was initially observed after 8 h of preincubation. The 1,25(OH)2D3 metabolite of vitamin D was two orders of magnitude more potent than 24,25(OH)2D3 and 25(OH)D3. To discern between an effect of 1,25(OH)2D3 on hormonal-induced Ca2+ entry through the plasma membrane channel vs. release of Ca2+ from internal stores, we suspended fura-2-loaded cells in Mn2+ rather than Ca2+ buffers. In cells preincubated with 1,25(OH)2D3, [Ca2+]i release (indicated by [Ca2+]i transient) was significantly blunted, whereas Mn2+ influx (indicating Ca2+ flux across the plasma membrane) was unaltered, suggesting a selective effect of 1,25(OH)2D3 on hormonal-activated release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores. 1,25(OH)2D3 also inhibited the PGE2-induced production of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate. We conclude that, in osteoblasts, chronic (hours) incubation with 1,25(OH)2D3 leads to attenuated stimulation of the [Ca2+]i transduction pathway by calciotropic hormones. This effect of 1,25(OH)2D3 may provide a cellular basis for the synergism between the effects of vitamin D and calciotropic hormones at the bone level.

Acute phosphate depletion dissociates hormonal stimulated second messengers in osteoblast-like cells.

The acute effect (24 h) of either phosphate depletion or phosphate surfeit on hormonal stimulated signal transduction systems was studied in the osteoblastic cell line UMR-106. Elevation of intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]in), induced by different calciotropic hormones (PTH, prostaglandin E2, endothelin) was blunted by acute phosphate depletion, whereas at high inorganic phosphate (Pi) concentrations the rise in [Ca2+]in was augmented. Basal [Ca2+]in was not altered by either Pi depletion or Pi excess. The effect of acute phosphate depletion on hormonal mediated [Ca2+]in rise was not observed in the absence of extracellular Ca2+ suggesting that under these conditions, the release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores, is not affected. Also, nonhormonal calcium entry pathways such as depolarization-activated calcium channels or protein kinase C-activated Ca2+ channels were not affected by acute phosphate depletion. cAMP accumulation in the cells, either through receptor or nonreceptor-mediated mechanisms, increased under low Pi conditions and decreased as Pi concentration in the culture media was progressively increased from 0 to 2 mM during 24 h of incubation. Changes in Pi concentration had no effect on basal cAMP generation by the cells. The facilitative effect of acute Pi depletion on agonist-induced cAMP accumulation could be demonstrated in both the presence and absence of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (0.2 mM). PTH receptor binding assessed with [Nle8 Nle18 Tyr34] bovine PTH (1-34) NH2 was not altered by phosphate depletion. We conclude that exposure of osteoblasts to different Pi environments modulates the second messenger responses to hormones in a reciprocal fashion so that acute phosphate depletion down-regulates [Ca2+]in signals while augmenting cAMP generation and vice versa. Inasmuch as bone resorption processes can be modulated by Ca2+ and cAMP the data presented herein suggest that the altered bone resorptive response to calciotropic hormones (e.g. PTH), under surfeit or deficit of phosphate, is mediated by changes in [Ca2+]in and cAMP.

Tryptophan hydroxylase inhibition increases preprotachykinin mRNA in developing and adult medullary raphe nuclei.

In order to study the regulation of co-localized monoamine and peptide neurotransmitters in the medullary raphe nuclei (MRN), we determined whether inhibition of serotonin (5-HT) synthesis affected levels of preprotachykinin (PPT; the prohormone precursor of substance P) mRNA in the MRN. Adult rats received p-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA), an irreversible inhibitor of tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), via Alzet minipumps. TPH activity was inhibited by 70-80% for 3 weeks following pump implantation. During this period Northern mRNA analysis revealed that PPT mRNA levels in the MRN were increased 1.5-2-fold. The pCPA-induced increase was specific for PPT mRNA since no change was detected in mRNA coding for neuron-specific enolase (NSE; a constitutive neuronal protein) or 28 S ribosomal RNA. To determine whether fetal inhibition of 5-HT synthesis affected development of PPT mRNA in the MRN, pregnant rats were administered pCPA via Alzet minipump implanted on embryonic day 8. In pCPA-treated litters TPH activity was decreased by 60-70% from E16 to postnatal day 3 (P3), returning to control levels by P8. Northern mRNA analysis revealed that PPT mRNA levels increased 2.4-fold of control levels at P1. Infusion of pCPA for one week resulted in an earlier increase in PPT mRNA levels, suggesting that birth was not required to elicit the surge in PPT message. These results support the hypothesis that alterations in 5-HT metabolism have regulatory consequences for co-localized substance P formation in the MRN.

Conditioned medium from activated splenocytes increases substance P in sympathetic ganglia.

Following removal of the presynaptic input to the superior cervical ganglion (SCG) of the neonatal rat, there is an increase in substance P (Kessler et al.: Science 214:335-336, 1981; Kessler and Black: Brain Res 234:182-187, 1982) and the mRNA coding for its prohormone precursor (Roach et al.: Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 84:5078-5081, 1987). However, the functional significance of this increase has been unclear. We report here that SP increases dramatically in cultures of SCG grown in the presence of conditioned medium from con-A-stimulated splenocytes. The effect is mimicked by growing SCG explants in the presence of human recombinant interleukin-1 (hrIL-1) but not hrIL-2. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is not involved in mediating this effect since antibodies to NGF included in the culture fail to alter the lymphokine-induced increase in SP. Moreover, the effect is somewhat specific for SP since the activities of tyrosine hydroxylase, tryptophan hydroxylase, and choline acetyltransferase (enzymes in the biosynthetic pathways for norepinephrine, serotonin, and acetylcholine) are not similarly elevated. Dorsal root ganglia respond with only modest increases in SP. The action of lymphokines in stimulating SP may, therefore, be a ganglion-specific action in promoting recovery following injury.

Development of serotonin, substance P and thyrotrophin-releasing hormone in mouse medullary raphe grown in organotypic tissue culture: developmental regulation by serotonin.

Substance P (SP) and thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) are co-localized with serotonin (5-HT) in cells of the medullary raphe nuclei. In order to examine the factors that control development of multiple neurotransmitters within individual brain nuclei, we have grown presumptive raphe nuclei in organotypic tissue culture, an environment in which mammalian embryonic brain is easily accessible and manipulable. Tissue was obtained from E13 mice. A discrete midline segment of the rhombencephalon was dissected intact or was separated into 'rostral' (RR) and 'medullary' (MR) fragments. Tissue was explanted onto collagen coverslips and grown for up to two weeks in Maximow depression chambers. Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), the rate-limiting enzyme in 5-HT biosynthesis, was barely detectable at explantation. During the first week in culture, however, TPH activity increased 7-fold. After two weeks, TPH activity increased almost 2.5-fold above the one-week level. Immunocytochemical analysis of the cultures confirmed a widespread distribution of 5-HT-positive cells and fibers throughout the explant. SP, monitored by radioimmunoassay, was detected after two days in culture, and attained a level of 111.7 +/- 9.8 pg/culture after two weeks. TRH activity was similarly elevated after two weeks in vitro. Therefore, developmental increases in TPH, SP, and TRH occurred in culture, mimicking the condition in vivo. RR and MR fragments, when grown apart on separate coverslips, developed 1.57-2.26 times the TPH activity that developed in the undivided piece. Inclusion of 1 microM pargyline in the fragments restored TPH to control levels. The effect of pargyline was blocked by methiothepin, suggesting autoreceptor-mediated regulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)