Rab3d is required for Xenopus anterior neurulation by regulating noggin secretion

Rab3d is a member of the Ras‐related small GTPase family of secretory Rab, Rab3. In this study, we showed that Xenopus Rab3d is expressed specifically in the anterior border of the neural plate when the neural plate converges and folds to initiate neural tube formation. Morpholino‐mediated knockdown of Rab3d resulted in neurulation defects both in neural plate convergence and folding. Interestingly, perturbation of BMP signaling rescued neurulation defects of Rab3d morphants, suggesting that Rab3d inhibits BMP signaling during neurulation. By secretion assay in the Xenopus animal cap, we found that Rab3d specifically regulates secretion of a BMP antagonist, Noggin, but not Chordin and Wnts. We also found that Rab3d is co‐localized with Noggin and that this interaction is dependent on the GTP/GDP cycle of Rab3d. Collectively, these findings suggest that Rab3d‐mediated secretion regulation of a BMP antagonist, Noggin, is one of the mechanisms of BMP antagonism during Xenopus anterior neurulation. Developmental Dynamics 240:1430–1439, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Effects of nerve growth factor and Noggin-modified bone marrow stromal cells on stroke in rats

Treatment with bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) ameliorates neurological functional deficits after stroke. Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophic factor that supports the survival and growth of neural cells. Noggin, an antagonist of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), promotes the differentiation of stem cells into neurons. In this study, we hypothesize that transfection of NGF and Noggin in BMSC treatment of stroke promotes BMSC neuronal differentiation and improves functional outcome after stroke. Adenovirus was used to trasfect NGF and Noggin and the transfection efficiency was measured by Western blot and immunostaining in vitro. The transfected BMSCs with NGF and/or Noggin were administered intravenously at 5 days after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) in rats. The neurological functional outcome and BMSC migration and differentiation in the ischemic brain were measured. The transplantation of BMSCs with NGF or Noggin elicited neurological functional improvement, promoted BMSCs present in the ischemic brain, and also up-regulated neuro-like cell differentiation as well as increased synaptophysin expression in the ischemic brain compared with nontreatment control animals (P< 0.05). Treatment of stroke with a combination of transfection of NGF and Noggin in BMSCs induced a synergistic effect on improved neurological functional outcome, BMSCs present in the ischemic brain, and synaptophysin expression in the ischemic brain compared with BMSCs transfected with an NGF- or Noggin-alone group (P < 0.05). These data demonstrate that increasing NGF or Noggin expression in BMSCs contributes to brain plasticity after stroke and that a synergistic effect is induced on the coexistence of NGF and Noggin in BMSCs treatment of stroke.     

糖皮质激素促间充质干细胞的成骨效应

背景：糖皮质激素是有效的免疫抑制和抗炎症药物而广泛应用于临床,然而长期服用后也会引起一些不良反应如骨质疏松症。糖皮质激素通过促进成骨细胞与骨细胞的凋亡,同时抑制间充质干细胞向成骨细胞分化,导致成骨细胞数量减少;然而在一定的条件下,糖皮质激素又能够促进间充质干细胞表达成骨细胞标志基因诱导其向成骨方向分化。 目的：对以地塞米松为代表的糖皮质激素在间充质干细胞成骨分化中发挥的作用以及可能的分子机制进行综述。 方法：由第一作者检索PubMed数据库1978至2012年有关地塞米松和间充质干细胞成骨分化的文献,英文关键词“Mesenchymal stem cell,dexamethasone,osteogenesis,osteoporosis,Runx2,BMP,Noggin,GILZ,glucocorticoid receptor”以不同的组合方式查找,排除重复性的研究,最终保留55篇进行归纳综述。 结果与结论：地塞米松能够调节Runx2,Noggin以及亮氨酸拉链蛋白等基因调控间充质干细胞成骨分化。当糖皮质激素作用于间充质干细胞时,可能由糖皮质激素受体介导其生理作用,也可能在糖皮质激素与其受体结合之前就受到11β-羟甾类脱氢酶的调节。另外,生理剂量(10^-8 mol/L)的地塞米松能促进间充质干细胞成骨分化,药理剂量(≥10^-7 mol/L)有抑制作用。     

Expression of Noggin and Gremlin1 and its implications in fine‐tuning BMP activities in mouse cartilage tissues

Increasing evidence supports the idea that bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) regulate cartilage maintenance in the adult skeleton. The aim of this study is to obtain insight into the regulation of BMP activities in the adult skeletal system. We analyzed expression of Noggin and Gremlin1 , BMP antagonists that are known to regulate embryonic skeletal development, in the adult skeletal system by Noggin‐LacZ and Gremlin1‐LacZ knockin reporter mouse lines. Both reporters are expressed in the adult skeleton in a largely overlapping manner with some distinct patterns. Both are detected in the articular cartilage, pubic symphysis, facet joint in the vertebrae, and intervertebral disk, suggesting that they regulate BMP activities in these tissues. In a surgically induced knee osteoarthritis model in mice, expression of Noggin mRNA was lost from the articular cartilage, which correlated with loss of BMP2/4 and pSMAD1/5/8, an indicator of active BMP signaling. Both reporters are also expressed in the sterna and rib cartilage, suggesting an extensive role of BMP antagonism in adult cartilage tissue. Moreover, Noggin‐LacZ was detected in sutures in the skull and broadly in the nasal cartilage, while Gremlin1‐LacZ exhibits a weaker and more restricted expression domain in the nasal cartilage. These results suggest broad regulation of BMP activities by Noggin and Gremlin1 in cartilage tissues in the adult skeleton, and that BMP signaling and its antagonism by NOGGIN play a role in osteoarthritis development. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:1671–1682, 2017.

     

Calcitonin gene-related peptide stimulates BMP-2 expression and the differentiation of human osteoblast-like cells in vitro

Aim： To investigate whether bone morphogenic protein-2 （BMP-2） expression was involved in calcitonin gene-related peptide （CGRP）- induced osteogenesis in human osteoblast-like cells in vitro. Methods： MG-63 osteogenic human osteosarcoma cells were treated with CGRP （10.8 mol/L） for 48 h. Cell cycle phases were deter- mined using flow cytometry assay. The protein levels of BMP-2, ALP, Osteocalcin, Collal, CREB, and pCREB were measured with Western blotting, while the mRNA level of BMP-2 was measured with qR-T PCR. The expression of ALP in MG-63 cells was also studied using immunofluorescence staining. The level of cAMP was measured with ELISA assay. Results： CGRP treatment significantly stimulated proliferation of MG-63 cells, and increased the expression of BMP-2 and the osteo- genic proteins ALP, Osteocalcin and Collal. Pretreatment with the BMP signaling inhibitor Noggin （100 ng/mL） did not affect CGRP- stimulated proliferation and BMP-2 expression, but abolished the CGRP-induced increases of the osteogenic proteins ALP, Osteocalcin and Collal. Furthermore, CGRP treatment markedly increased cAMP level in MG-63 cells, whereas pretreatment with the cAMP path- way inhibitor H89 （5 pmol/L） abolished the CGRP-induced increases of cAMP level and BMP-2 expression. Conclusion： In MG-63 cells, the BMP pathway is involved in CGRP-induced osteogenic differentiation but not in proliferation, whereas the cAMP/pCREB pathway is involved in the expression of BMP-2.     

转染Noggin基因的骨髓基质干细胞体外分化为神经元样细胞的研究

目的 构建Noggin基因的表达载体,分离骨髓基质干细胞(BMSCs),探讨转染Noggin基因的BMSCs在体外分化为神经元样细胞的情况.方法 应用RT-PCR技术扩增Noggin基因,利用基因工程技术构建载体pCS2+[Tα1]-Noggin,分离、培养大鼠BMSCs,借助脂质体将Noggin基因转入BMSCs.观察诱导后细胞形态变化,利用免疫细胞化学方法 鉴定分化细胞是否表达神经细胞特异性烯醇化酶(NSE)、微管相关蛋白-2(MAP-2)以及胶质纤维酸性蛋白(GFAP).利用RT-PCR方法 检测神经细胞标记物mRNA的表达.结果 成功构建Noggin基因的真核表达载体并分离培养BMSCs.转染Noggin基因表达载体后, 分化的BMSCs形态似神经细胞;免疫化学检测到NSE、MAP-2特异性标志物表达,未检测到GFAP表达;RT-PCR测得神经细胞标记物GAP43、NCAM、SYN1表达.结论 从形态、蛋白、基因水平证实转染Noggin基因的BMSCs在体外可以分化为具有部分功能的神经细胞.     

Consequences of noggin expression by neural stem, glial, and neuronal precursor cells engrafted into the injured spinal cord

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are a large class of secreted factors, which serve as modulators of development in multiple organ systems, including the CNS. Studies investigating the potential of stem cell transplantation for restoration of function and cellular replacement following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) have demonstrated that the injured adult spinal cord is not conducive to neurogenesis or oligodendrogenesis of engrafted CNS precursors. In light of recent findings that BMP expression is modulated by SCI, we hypothesized that they may play a role in lineage restriction of multipotent grafts. To test this hypothesis, neural stem or precursor cells were engineered to express noggin, an endogenous antagonist of BMP action, prior to transplantation or in vitro challenge with recombinant BMPs. Adult rats were subjected to both contusion and focal ischemic SCI. One week following injury, the animals were transplanted with either EGFP- or noggin-expressing neural stem or precursor cells. Results demonstrate that noggin expression does not antagonize terminal astroglial differentiation in the engrafted stem cells. Furthermore, neutralizing endogenous BMP in the injured spinal cord significantly increased both the lesion volume and the number of infiltrating macrophages in injured spinal cords receiving noggin-expressing stem cell grafts compared with EGFP controls. These data strongly suggest that endogenous factors in the injured spinal microenvironment other than the BMPs restrict the differentiation of engrafted pluripotent neural stem cells as well as suggest other roles for BMPs in tissue protection in the injured CNS.     

Molecular signaling in intervertebral disk development.

The purpose of this investigation is to identify and study the expression pattern of pertinent molecular factors involved in the differentiation of the intervertebral disk (IVD). It is likely that hedgehog genes and the BMP inhibitors are key factors involved in spinal joint formation. Radioactive in situ hybridization with mRNA probes for pax-1, SHH, IHH and Noggin gene was performed on mouse embryo and adult tissue. Immunohistochemistry was performed to localize hedgehog receptor, "patched" (ptc). From 14.5 dpc until birth pax-1 mRNA was expressed in the developing anulus fibrosus (AF). During the same developmental period Noggin mRNA is highly expressed throughout the spine, in the developing AF, while ptc protein and SHH mRNA were expressed in the developing nucleus pulposus (NP). IHH mRNA was expressed by condensing chondrocytes of the vertebral bodies and later becomes confined to the vertebral endplate. We show for the first time that pax-1 is expressed in the adult intervertebral disk. Ptc expression in the NP is an indicator of hedgehog protein signaling in the developing IVD. The expression pattern of the BMP inhibitor Noggin appears to be important for the normal formation of the IVD and may prove to play a role in its segmental pattern formation.     

Alkali-Urea Extraction of Demineralized Bone Matrix Removes Noggin,an Inhibitor of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins

Demineralized bone matrix (DBM) and native bone morphogenetic protein (nBMP) are complex mixtures of non-collagenous bone proteins. These mixtures contain many of the BMPs that are available as recombinant molecules. Information regarding the presence in these materials of molecules that may affect the availability and activity of the BMPs is very limited. We have devised a simple chemical extraction of DBM using alkali-urea that produces a water soluble extractate that inhibits the osteogenic activity of DBM. We have demonstrated the presence of noggin, an extracellular BMP ligand antagonist, in this material. We conclude that differential chemical extraction may be a useful means of removing inhibitory molecules from DBM and nBMP.