An intracellular fragment of osteoactivin formed by ectodomain shedding translocated to the nucleoplasm and bound to RNA binding proteins.

Osteoactivin is a type I transmembrane protein upregulated by unloading stresses, including denervation, prolonged bed rest, and space flight, but the regulatory mechanisms of its expression and activation under these conditions remain undefined. Here we report that osteoactivin protein exists in two forms: an intact transmembrane form and a secreted form. The secreted form, the extracellular fragment of osteoactivin, was produced by ectodomain shedding and was released into a culture medium. Amino acid sequence analysis of the carboxy-terminal fragment of osteoactivin (OA-CTF) revealed that cleavage of osteoactivin by proteases occurred both at the cell surface and within the cell membrane. Localization analysis demonstrated translocalization of OA-CTF to the nucleus and the endoplasmic reticulum. Moreover, RNA binding proteins, which regulate pre-mRNA splicing, were identified as OA-CTF binding proteins. These results suggest that OA-CTF formed by ectodomain shedding is involved in the regulation of pre-mRNA splicing.

Osteoactivin fragments produced by ectodomain shedding induce MMP-3 expression via ERK pathway in mouse NIH-3T3 fibroblasts.

Intact osteoactivin, a novel type I membrane glycoprotein, were shed at a dibasic motif in the juxtamembrane region in C2C12 myoblasts. Extracellular fragments were secreted into the culture media by a putative metalloprotease. Extracellular fragments of osteoactivin, but not control protein, induced matrix metalloprotease-3 (MMP-3) expression in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. Epidermal growth factor (ERK) kinase inhibitors inhibited the osteoactivin-mediated MMP-3 expression, whereas the extracellular fragment of osteoactivin activated ERK1/2 and p38 in the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Our results suggest that the extracellular fragments of osteoactivin produced by shedding act as a growth factor to induce MMP-3 expression via the ERK pathway in fibroblasts.

Overexpression of osteoactivin protects skeletal muscle from severe degeneration caused by long-term denervation in mice.

We have previously shown that osteoactivin, a type I membrane glycoprotein expressed in myofibers, upregulated expression of matrix metalloprotease (MMP)-3 and MMP-9 in fibroblasts infiltrated denervated skeletal muscle in mice. To address whether osteoactivin-mediated increase in MMPs in skeletal muscle is useful for regeneration of denervated skeletal muscle, we subjected osteoactivin-transgenic mice to long-term denervation for 70 or 90 days. Long-term denervation caused severe degeneration of myofibers and fibrosis in skeletal muscle of wild-type mice. However, overexpression of osteoactivin protected skeletal muscle from such changes. Infiltration of fibroblast-like cells and collagen deposition were sustained at low levels after long-term denervation in skeletal muscle of osteoactivin-transgenic mice. This cytoprotective effect of osteoactivin was supported by the expression of regeneration/degeneration-associated genes in the gastrocnemius muscle during denervation. Denervation significantly upregulated the expression of anti-fibrotic genes, such as glypican-1 and decorin-1, in the gastrocnemius muscle of osteoactivin-transgenic mice, compared with wild-type mice. In contrast, overexpression of osteoactivin caused a significant reduction in denervation-induced expression of elongation factor 1A-1, an indicator for the persistence of degenerated cells. Our results suggest that an osteoactivin-mediated increase in MMPs in skeletal muscle might be useful for protecting injured muscle from fibrosis, leading to full regeneration after denervation.

Inhibitory effects of tocopherols on expression of the cyclooxygenase-2 gene in RAW264.7 cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide, tumor necrosis factor-α or Porphyromonas gingivalis fimbriae.

BACKGROUND: Tocopherols, which include α-, ß-, γ-, and δ-tocopherol, protect cells against harmful free radicals and play an important role in preventing many human diseases such as cancer, inflammatory disorders, and ageing itself. However, the causal relationships between periodontal or oral chronic diseases and tocopherols have not been sufficiently studied. The present study investigated the inhibitory effects of these compounds on the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) mRNA in RAW264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) or fimbriae of Poryphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), an oral anaerobe. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cytotoxicity (EC50) of tocopherols toward RAW cells was determined using a cell counting kit (CCK-8). The regulatory effect of these compounds on the expression of COX2 mRNA stimulated with LPS, TNFα or Pg fimbriae was investigated using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: Each tocopherol had similarly low cytotoxicity. COX2 gene expression in RAW cells after exposure to the three different macrophage activators was inhibited by the tocopherols (p<0.01). Compared to α-tocopherol, ß-, γ- and δ-tocopherol exhibited greater inhibitory effects (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Tocopherols exhibit anti-inflammatory activity, and ß-, γ- and δ-tocopherol have particularly more potent anti-inflammatory activity than α-tocopherol. Tocopherols may have potential utility for prevention of periodontal and chronic oral diseases.