Effects of systemically administered abaloparatide, an osteoanabolic PTHrP analog, as an adjuvant therapy for spinal fusion in rats.

BACKGROUND: Abaloparatide is a parathyroid hormone receptor agonist that increases bone formation and reduces vertebral and nonvertebral fracture risk in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Animal studies indicate abaloparatide stimulates vertebral bone formation and enhances bony bridging and biomechanical stability of fracture calluses. AIMS: The current study is evaluating the potential utility for abaloparatide as an adjunct therapy for spinal fusions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The effects of 14 or 28 days of daily subcutaneous injections of abaloparatide (20 µg/kg/d) or vehicle were evaluated in 32 male Sprague-Dawley rats starting 1 day after noninstrumented posterolateral fusion (PLF) with bone autograft. Fusion mass microarchitecture was analyzed by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and serum markers of bone formation and bone resorption were evaluated. Motion segments were scored in a blinded manner as fused or unfused by postmortem radiography and manual palpation. RESULTS: Abaloparatide-treated rats showed higher bone formation (serum osteocalcin) at day 14 and 28 compared with vehicle controls, without increases in the bone resorption marker serum TRACP-5b. Micro-CT showed greater trabecular number in fusion masses from the abaloparatide group vs vehicle controls at day 14. Manual palpation and radiography indicated no fusions in either group at day 14, whereas 25% of vehicle-treated rats and 50% of abaloparatide-treated rats had bilateral fusion at day 28. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In summary, this rat PLF model showed that abaloparatide treatment was associated with higher levels of the bone formation marker osteocalcin, improved fusion mass architecture, and a non- significant 2-fold higher fusion rate compared with vehicle.

Effects of abaloparatide and teriparatide on bone resorption and bone formation in female mice.

Intermittent administration of PTH type 1 receptor (PTH1R) agonists increases bone remodeling, with greater stimulation of bone formation relative to bone resorption causing net gains in bone mass. This pharmacodynamic feature underlies the bone-building effects of teriparatide and abaloparatide, the only PTH1R agonists approved to reduce osteoporotic fracture risk in postmenopausal women. This study in 8-week-old female mice compared bone resorption and formation responses to these agents delivered at the same 10 µg/kg dose, and a 40 µg/kg abaloparatide dose was also included to reflect its 4-fold higher approved clinical dose. Peptides or vehicle were administered by daily supra-calvarial subcutaneous injection for 12 days, and local (calvarial) and systemic (L5 vertebral and tibial) responses were evaluated by histomorphometry. Terminal bone histomorphometry data indicated that calvarial resorption cavities were similar in both abaloparatide groups versus vehicle controls, whereas the teriparatide group had more calvarial resorption cavities compared with the vehicle or abaloparatide 40 µg/kg groups. The bone resorption marker serum CTX was significantly lower in the abaloparatide 40 µg/kg group and similar in the other two active treatment groups compared with vehicle controls. Both peptides increased trabecular bone formation rate (BFR) in L5 and proximal tibia versus vehicle, and L5 BFR was higher with abaloparatide 40 µg/kg versus teriparatide. At the tibial diaphysis, periosteal BFR was higher with abaloparatide 40 µg/kg versus vehicle or teriparatide, and endocortical BFR was higher with teriparatide but not with abaloparatide 10 or 40 µg/kg versus vehicle. Few differences in structural or microarchitectural bone parameters were observed with this brief duration of treatment. In summary, calvarial bone resorption cavity counts were higher in the teriparatide group versus the vehicle and abaloparatide 40 µg/kg groups, and the abaloparatide 40 µg/kg group had lower serum CTX versus vehicle. L5 and tibial trabecular bone formation indices were higher in all three active treatment groups versus vehicle. The abaloparatide 40 µg/kg group had higher L5 trabecular BFR and tibial periosteal BFR versus teriparatide, whereas tibial endocortical BFR was higher with teriparatide but not abaloparatide. Together, these findings in female mice indicate that an improved balance of bone formation versus bone resorption is established shortly after initiating treatment with abaloparatide.

Abaloparatide improves cortical geometry and trabecular microarchitecture and increases vertebral and femoral neck strength in a rat model of male osteoporosis.

Androgen deficiency is a leading cause of male osteoporosis, with bone loss driven by an inadequate level of bone formation relative to the extent of bone resorption. Abaloparatide, an osteoanabolic PTH receptor agonist used to treat women with postmenopausal osteoporosis at high risk for fracture, increases bone formation and bone strength in estrogen-deficient animals without increasing bone resorption. This study examined the effects of abaloparatide on bone formation, bone mass, and bone strength in androgen-deficient orchiectomized (ORX) rats, a male osteoporosis model. Four-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats underwent ORX or sham surgery. Eight weeks later, sham-operated rats received vehicle (saline; n = 10) while ORX rats (n = 10/group) received vehicle (Veh) or abaloparatide at 5 or 25 µg/kg (ABL5 or ABL25) by daily s.c. injection for 8 weeks, followed by sacrifice. Dynamic bone histomorphometry indicated that the tibial diaphysis of one or both abaloparatide groups had higher periosteal mineralizing surface, intracortical bone formation rate (BFR), endocortical BFR, and cortical thickness vs Veh controls. Vertebral trabecular BFR was also higher in both abaloparatide groups vs Veh, and the ABL25 group had higher trabecular osteoblast surface without increased osteoclast surface. By micro-CT, the vertebra and distal femur of both abaloparatide-groups had improved trabecular bone volume and micro-architecture, and the femur diaphysis of the ABL25 group had greater cortical thickness with no increase in porosity vs Veh. Biomechanical testing indicated that both abaloparatide-groups had stronger vertebrae and femoral necks vs Veh controls. These findings provide preclinical support for evaluating abaloparatide as an investigational treatment for male osteoporosis.

Soluble VEGFR1 reverses BMP2 inhibition of intramembranous ossification during healing of cortical bone defects.

BMP2 is widely used for promotion of bone repair and regeneration. However, bone formation induced by BMP2 is quite variable. Bone forming progenitor cells in different locations appear to respond to BMP2 in different ways, and repair outcomes can vary as a consequence of modulating effects by other factors. In this study, we have examined the effects of VEGF on BMP2-induced repair of a cortical bone defect, a 1 mm diameter drill hole, in the proximal tibia of mice. Treatment of the defect with either a bolus of PBS or soluble VEGFR1 (sVEGFR1), a decoy receptor for VEGF, had the same effects on bone formation via intramembranous ossification in the defect and cartilage formation and injured periosteum, during the healing process. In contrast, treatment with BMP2 inhibited intramembranous bone formation in the defect while it promoted cartilage and endochondral bone formation in the injured periosteum compared with mice treated with PBS or sVEGFR1. The inhibitory effect of BMP2 on bone formation was unlikely due to increased osteoclast activity and decreased invasion of blood vessels in the defect. Most importantly, co-delivery of BMP2 and sVEGFR1 reversed the inhibition of intramembranous bone formation by BMP2. Furthermore, the decreased accumulation of collagen and production of bone matrix proteins in the defect of groups with BMP2 treatment could also be prevented by co-delivery of BMP2 and sVEGFR1. Our data indicate that introducing a VEGF-binding protein, such as sVEGFR1, to reduce levels of extracellular VEGF, may enhance the effects of BMP2 on intramembranous bone formation. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:1461-1469, 2017.

Cell autonomous ANTXR1-mediated regulation of extracellular matrix components in primary fibroblasts.

Our previous studies of Antxr1 knockout mice suggested that fibrotic skin abnormalities in these mice are associated with increased VEGF signaling. Here, based on studies of primary fibroblasts isolated from skin of Antx1+/+ and Antxr1-/- mice at embryonic stage E17.5 and postnatal day P49, we conclude that increased Col1a1 and Fn1 expression in Antxr1-deficient fibroblasts is partly mediated by a cell-autonomous ANTXR1-dependent mechanism. In turn, this may act in parallel with VEGF-dependent regulation of collagen type I and fibronectin production. We demonstrate that shRNA mediated knockdown of VEGF in Antxr1-/- fibroblasts reduces Col1a1 and Fn1 expression to below control levels, and these are restored by exogenous addition of recombinant VEGF. In addition, the increase in protein levels of collagen type I and fibronectin in mutant cells is blocked by VEGF neutralizing antibody. However, expressing the longest isoform of ANTXR1 (sv1) in mutant fibroblasts decreases levels of Ctgf, Col1a1 and Fn1 transcripts, but has no effect on VEGF expression. Taken together, our data suggest that the increased matrix production in Antxr1- deficient fibroblasts primarily occurs via a CTGF-dependent pathway and that other ANTXR1-associated mechanisms contribute to VEGF-dependent increase of collagen type I and fibronectin expression. Our findings provide a basis for further studies of novel ANTXR1-dependent connective tissue homeostatic control mechanisms in healthy individuals, patients with organ fibrosis, and patients with GAPO syndrome.

Fell-Muir Lecture: Regulatory mechanisms of skeletal and connective tissue development and homeostasis - lessons from studies of human disorders.

Studies of proliferative hemangiomas have led to the discovery that interactions of endothelial cells with extracellular matrix and/or Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)-A stimulate the expression of VEGFR1, the VEGF decoy receptor, and suppress VEGF-dependent VEGFR2 signalling by a mechanism that requires the matrix-binding receptor Anthrax Toxin Receptor (ANTXR)1, VEGFR2, ß1 integrin and the Nuclear Factor of Activated T cells (NFAT). In hemangioma endothelial cells, all these components are present, but are functionally compromised, so that the levels of VEGFR1 are extremely low and VEGFR2 signalling is constitutively active. Consequently, the levels of Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF)-1α and its transcriptional targets, VEGF-A and C-X-C motif chemokine 12 (CxCl12), are elevated and a positive VEGF-A feedback loop is established. Overexpression of ANTXR1, carrying a heterozygous Ala-to-Thr mutation, induces hemangioma-like signalling in control endothelial cells; VEGF signalling is normalized when wild-type ANTXR1 is overexpressed in hemangioma cells. These findings suggest that ANTXR1 functions as a negative regulator of VEGF-A signalling. Studies of a mouse model of the Growth Retardation, Alopecia, Pseudo-anodontia and Optic Atrophy (GAPO) syndrome, caused by the loss-of-function mutations in ANTXR1, as well as knock-in mice carrying the Ala-to-Thr ANTXR1 mutation, confirm that ANTXR1 functions as a suppressor of VEGF-A signalling. Cutaneous endothelial cells isolated from ANTXR1-deficient mice exhibit low levels of VEGFR1, elevated levels of VEGF-A, HIF-1α and CxCl12 and activated VEGFR2 signalling as in hemangioma. Increased numbers of myeloid cells in the skin of ANTXR1-deficient mice are associated with reduced vascularity and increased skin fibrosis, suggesting a mechanism for hemangioma involution and replacement by fibrotic scars. Through controlling VEGF-A signalling and extracellular matrix synthesis, ANTXR1 is emerging as a key regulator of skeletal and connective tissue development and homeostasis.

Regulatory mechanisms of anthrax toxin receptor 1-dependent vascular and connective tissue homeostasis.

It is well known that angiogenesis is linked to fibrotic processes in fibroproliferative diseases, but insights into pathophysiological processes are limited, due to lack of understanding of molecular mechanisms controlling endothelial and fibroblastic homeostasis. We demonstrate here that the matrix receptor anthrax toxin receptor 1 (ANTXR1), also known as tumor endothelial marker 8 (TEM8), is an essential component of these mechanisms. Loss of TEM8 function in mice causes reduced synthesis of endothelial basement membrane components and hyperproliferative and leaky blood vessels in skin. In addition, endothelial cell alterations in mutants are almost identical to those of endothelial cells in infantile hemangioma lesions, including activated VEGF receptor signaling in endothelial cells, increased expression of the downstream targets VEGF and CXCL12, and increased numbers of macrophages and mast cells. In contrast, loss of TEM8 in fibroblasts leads to increased rates of synthesis of fiber-forming collagens, resulting in progressive fibrosis in skin and other organs. Compromised interactions between TEM8-deficient endothelial and fibroblastic cells cause dramatic reduction in the activity of the matrix-degrading enzyme MMP2. In addition to insights into mechanisms of connective tissue homeostasis, our data provide molecular explanations for vascular and connective tissue abnormalities in GAPO syndrome, caused by loss-of-function mutations in ANTXR1. Furthermore, the loss of MMP2 activity suggests that fibrotic skin abnormalities in GAPO syndrome are, in part, the consequence of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying syndromes (NAO, Torg and Winchester) with multicentric skin nodulosis and osteolysis caused by homozygous loss-of-function mutations in MMP2.

Epithelial cell cycle arrest in G2/M mediates kidney fibrosis after injury.

Fibrosis is responsible for chronic progressive kidney failure, which is present in a large number of adults in the developed world. It is increasingly appreciated that acute kidney injury (AKI), resulting in aberrant incomplete repair, is a major contributor to chronic fibrotic kidney disease. The mechanism that triggers the fibrogenic response after injury is not well understood. In ischemic, toxic and obstructive models of AKI, we demonstrate a causal association between epithelial cell cycle G2/M arrest and a fibrotic outcome. G2/M-arrested proximal tubular cells activate c-jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling, which acts to upregulate profibrotic cytokine production. Treatment with a JNK inhibitor, or bypassing the G2/M arrest by administration of a p53 inhibitor or the removal of the contralateral kidney, rescues fibrosis in the unilateral ischemic injured kidney. Hence, epithelial cell cycle arrest at G2/M and its subsequent downstream signaling are hitherto unrecognized therapeutic targets for the prevention of fibrosis and interruption of the accelerated progression of kidney disease.

Identification of signaling pathways regulating primary cilium length and flow-mediated adaptation.

The primary cilium acts as a transducer of extracellular stimuli into intracellular signaling [1, 2]. Its regulation, particularly with respect to length, has been defined primarily by genetic experiments and human disease states in which molecular components that are necessary for its proper construction have been mutated or deleted [1]. However, dynamic modulation of cilium length, a phenomenon observed in ciliated protists [3, 4], has not been well-characterized in vertebrates. Here we demonstrate that decreased intracellular calcium (Ca(2+)) or increased cyclic AMP (cAMP), and subsequent protein kinase A activation, increases primary cilium length in mammalian epithelial and mesenchymal cells. Anterograde intraflagellar transport is sped up in lengthened cilia, potentially increasing delivery flux of cilium components. The cilium length response creates a negative feedback loop whereby fluid shear-mediated deflection of the primary cilium, which decreases intracellular cAMP, leads to cilium shortening and thus decreases mechanotransductive signaling. This adaptive response is blocked when the autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) gene products, polycystin-1 or -2, are reduced. Dynamic regulation of cilium length is thus intertwined with cilium-mediated signaling and provides a natural braking mechanism in response to external stimuli that may be compromised in PKD.

Imaging intraflagellar transport in mammalian primary cilia.

The primary cilium is a specialized organelle that projects from the surface of many cell types. Unlike its motile counterpart it cannot beat but does transduce extracellular stimuli into intracellular signals and acts as a specialized subcellular compartment. The cilium is built and maintained by the transport of proteins and other biomolecules into and out of this compartment. The trafficking machinery for the cilium is referred to as IFT or intraflagellar transport. It was originally identified in the green algae Chlamydomonas and has been discovered throughout the evolutionary tree. The IFT machinery is widely conserved and acts to establish, maintain, and disassemble cilia and flagella. Understanding the role of IFT in cilium signaling and regulation requires a methodology for observing it directly. Here we describe current methods for observing the IFT process in mammalian primary cilia through the generation of fluorescent protein fusions and their expression in ciliated cell lines. The observation protocol uses high-resolution time-lapse microscopy to provide detailed quantitative measurements of IFT particle velocities in wild-type cells or in the context of genetic or other perturbations. Direct observation of IFT trafficking will provide a unique tool to dissect the processes that govern cilium regulation and signaling.

Receptor density balances signal stimulation and attenuation in membrane-assembled complexes of bacterial chemotaxis signaling proteins.

All cells possess transmembrane signaling systems that function in the environment of the lipid bilayer. In the Escherichia coli chemotaxis pathway, the binding of attractants to a two-dimensional array of receptors and signaling proteins simultaneously inhibits an associated kinase and stimulates receptor methylation--a slower process that restores kinase activity. These two opposing effects lead to robust adaptation toward stimuli through a physical mechanism that is not understood. Here, we provide evidence of a counterbalancing influence exerted by receptor density on kinase stimulation and receptor methylation. Receptor signaling complexes were reconstituted over a range of defined surface concentrations by using a template-directed assembly method, and the kinase and receptor methylation activities were measured. Kinase activity and methylation rates were both found to vary significantly with surface concentration--yet in opposite ways: samples prepared at high surface densities stimulated kinase activity more effectively than low-density samples, whereas lower surface densities produced greater methylation rates than higher densities. FRET experiments demonstrated that the cooperative change in kinase activity coincided with a change in the arrangement of the membrane-associated receptor domains. The counterbalancing influence of density on receptor methylation and kinase stimulation leads naturally to a model for signal regulation that is compatible with the known logic of the E. coli pathway. Density-dependent mechanisms are likely to be general and may operate when two or more membrane-related processes are influenced differently by the two-dimensional concentration of pathway elements.

THM1 negatively modulates mouse sonic hedgehog signal transduction and affects retrograde intraflagellar transport in cilia.

Characterization of previously described intraflagellar transport (IFT) mouse mutants has led to the proposition that normal primary cilia are required for mammalian cells to respond to the sonic hedgehog (SHH) signal. Here we describe an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mutant mouse, alien (aln), which has abnormal primary cilia and shows overactivation of the SHH pathway. The aln locus encodes a novel protein, THM1 (tetratricopeptide repeat-containing hedgehog modulator-1), which localizes to cilia. aln-mutant cilia have bulb-like structures at their tips in which IFT proteins (such as IFT88) are sequestered, characteristic of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Caenorhabditis elegans retrograde IFT mutants. RNA-interference knockdown of Ttc21b (which we call Thm1 and which encodes THM1) in mouse inner medullary collecting duct cells expressing an IFT88-enhanced yellow fluorescent protein fusion recapitulated the aln-mutant cilial phenotype, and live imaging of these cells revealed impaired retrograde IFT. In contrast to previously described IFT mutants, Smoothened and full-length glioblastoma (GLI) proteins localize to aln-mutant cilia. We hypothesize that the aln retrograde IFT defect causes sequestration of IFT proteins in aln-mutant cilia and leads to the overactivated SHH signaling phenotype. Specifically, the aln mutation uncouples the roles of anterograde and retrograde transport in SHH signaling, suggesting that anterograde IFT is required for GLI activation and that retrograde IFT modulates this event.

Formation and activity of template-assembled receptor signaling complexes.

Problems in membrane biology require methods to recreate the interactions between receptors and cytoplasmic signaling proteins at the membrane surface. Here, unilamellar vesicles composed of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and a nickel-chelating lipid were used as templates to direct the assembly of proteins from the Escherichia coli chemotaxis signaling pathway. The bacterial chemoreceptors are known to form clusters, which promote the binding of the adaptor protein (CheW) and the kinase (CheA). When CheA was incubated with vesicles, CheW, and a histidine-tagged cytoplasmic domain fragment of the aspartate chemoreceptor (CF), the kinase activity was stimulated approximately 300-fold. Activity and pull-down assays were used with dynamic light scattering and electron microscopy to characterize the protein-vesicle compositions that were correlated with the high levels of activity, which demonstrated that CF-CheW-CheA complexes on the vesicle surface were the active entities. Assembly and stimulation occurred with vesicles of different sizes and CFs in different extents of glutamine substitution (in place of glutamate) at physiologically relevant sites. An exception was the combination of sonicated vesicles with the unsubstituted CF, which displayed lower CheA activity. The lower activity was attributed to the high curvature of the sonicated vesicles and a weaker tendency of the unsubstituted CF to self-assemble. Electron micrographs of the vesicle-protein assemblies revealed that protein binding induced pronounced changes in vesicle shape, which was consistent with the introduction of positive curvature in the outer leaflet of the bilayer. Overall, vesicle-mediated template-directed assembly is shown to be an effective way to form functional complexes of membrane-associated proteins and suggests that significant changes in membrane shape can be involved in the process of transmembrane signaling.