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Adele L Boskey

Publications and source records attributed to Adele L Boskey.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

In vitro effects of dentin matrix protein-1 on hydroxyapatite formation provide insights into in vivo functions.

Dentin matrix protein-1 (DMP1) is a mineralized tissue matrix protein synthesized by osteoblasts, hypertrophic chondrocytes, and ameloblasts as well as odontoblasts. DMP1 is believed to have multiple in vivo functions, acting both as a signaling molecule and a regulator of biomineralization. Using a cell-free system in vitro, we evaluated the action of DMP1 in the regulation of hydroxylapatite (HA) formation and crystal growth. The non-phosphorylated recombinant protein acted as an HA nucleator, increasing the amount of mineral formed in a gelatin gel HA growth system relative to protein-free controls. The recombinant protein phosphorylated in vitro had no detectable effect on HA formation and growth. In contrast, phosphorylated bovine DMP1 expressed in marrow stromal cells with an adenovirus vector containing 29.7 phosphates/mol was an effective inhibitor of HA formation and growth. The native full-length protein appeared to be absent or present in only small amounts in the extracellular matrix of bones and teeth. However, two highly phosphorylated fragments representing the N- and C-terminal portions of DMP1 have been identified, apparently arising from proteolytic cleavage of four X-Asp bonds. The highly phosphorylated C-terminal 57-kDa fragment (containing 42 phosphates/mol), like the non-phosphorylated DMP1, was an HA nucleator. These data suggest that, in its native form, DMP1 inhibits mineralization, but when cleaved or dephosphorylated, it initiates mineralization. These in vitro data are consistent with the findings in the DMP1 knockout mouse.

Animals↗

Fourier transform infrared microscopic imaging: effects of estrogen and estrogen deficiency on fracture healing in rat femurs.

Infrared spectroscopic imaging with 6-10 microm spatial resolution was used to characterize the changes in fracture callus mineral content, carbonate content, mineral crystallinity, and collagen maturity in femurs of 3-month-old ovariectomized rats treated with estrogen (estrogen sufficiency) or vehicle (estrogen deficiency). Comparisons were also made in these animals to cortical bone at a distance from the callus. Analyses at 4, 8, and 12 weeks post fracture demonstrated that healing was accelerated in the estrogen-sufficient animals as demonstrated by increasing mineral content and collagen maturity and decreasing carbonate incorporation.

Animals↗

Brief bone morphogenetic protein 2 treatment of glucocorticoid-inhibited MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts rescues commitment-associated cell cycle and mineralization without alteration of Runx2.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) inhibit bone formation in vivo. In MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts, chronic administration of 1 microm dexamethasone (DEX) starting at confluency results in >98% inhibition of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) expression and apatite mineral deposition. Here, it is shown that brief exposure to recombinant human BMP-2 (rhBMP-2), as short as 6 h, is sufficient to induce irreversible commitment to mineralization in DEX-treated cultures. RhBMP-2 dose dependently rescued mineralization but not collagen accumulation in DEX-inhibited cultures. The selective restoration of mineralization was evident in the higher mineral to matrix ratios of DEX/rhBMP-2 co-treated cultures compared with control. We tested the involvement of the runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) in the DEX inhibition and rhBMP-2 rescue of mineralization. Surprisingly, DEX did not decrease Runx2 DNA binding activity, transactivation, or association with the endogenous osteocalcin gene promoter. Furthermore, the rhBMP-2 rescue did not involve Runx2 stimulation, suggesting an important role for factors other than Runx2 in BMP-2 action. Finally, we studied the differentiation-related cell cycle, which persists during commitment to mineralization in untreated cultures, but is inhibited along with mineralization in DEX-treated cultures. Although both rhBMP-2 alone and DEX alone were antimitogenic, rhBMP-2 stimulated this cell cycle in DEX-inhibited cultures. In conclusion, brief rhBMP-2 treatment restores mineralization in DEX-inhibited MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts via a mechanism different from Runx2 stimulation. This restoration may be functionally related to the accompanying rescue of the differentiation-related cell cycle. The efficacy of short term BMP-2 treatment supports the potential of short-lived BMP vectors for skeletal therapy in both traditional and gene therapeutic approaches.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Chemical and biomechanical characterization of hyperhomocysteinemic bone disease in an animal model.

BACKGROUND: Classical homocystinuria is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) deficiency and characterized by distinctive alterations of bone growth and skeletal development. Skeletal changes include a reduction in bone density, making it a potentially attractive model for the study of idiopathic osteoporosis. METHODS: To investigate this aspect of hyperhomocysteinemia, we supplemented developing chicks (n = 8) with 0.6% dl-homocysteine (hCySH) for the first 8 weeks of life in comparison to controls (n = 10), and studied biochemical, biomechanical and morphologic effects of this nutritional intervention. RESULTS: hCySH-fed animals grew faster and had longer tibiae at the end of the study. Plasma levels of hCySH, methionine, cystathionine, and inorganic sulfate were higher, but calcium, phosphate, and other indices of osteoblast metabolism were not different. Radiographs of the lower limbs showed generalized osteopenia and accelerated epiphyseal ossification with distinct metaphyseal and suprametaphyseal lucencies similar to those found in human homocystinurics. Although biomechanical testing of the tibiae, including maximal load to failure and bone stiffness, indicated stronger bone, strength was proportional to the increased length and cortical thickness in the hCySH-supplemented group. Bone ash weights and IR-spectroscopy of cortical bone showed no difference in mineral content, but there were higher Ca2+/PO4(3-) and lower Ca2+/CO3(2-) molar ratios than in controls. Mineral crystallization was unchanged. CONCLUSION: In this chick model, hyperhomocysteinemia causes greater radial and longitudinal bone growth, despite normal indices of bone formation. Although there is also evidence for an abnormal matrix and altered bone composition, our finding of normal biomechanical bone strength, once corrected for altered morphometry, suggests that any increase in the risk of long bone fracture in human hyperhomocysteinemic disease is small. We also conclude that the hCySH-supplemented chick is a promising model for study of the connective tissue abnormalities associated with homocystinuria and an important alternative model to the CBS knock-out mouse.

Animals↗

Spectroscopically determined collagen Pyr/deH-DHLNL cross-link ratio and crystallinity indices differ markedly in recombinant congenic mice with divergent calculated bone tissue strength.

Whole bone strength can be partitioned into structural and material components. In three-point bending tests of 6-month-old female humeri from the HcB/Dem recombinant congenic series, strains HcB/8 and HcB/23 differed markedly in calculated failure stress but not ash percentage. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic imaging was used to determine whether differences in the ratio of pyridinoline (pyr; nonreducible) to dehydrodihydroxynorleucine (de-DHLNL; reducible) collagen cross-links (XLR), mineral crystallinity, or spatial ordering could account for the strains' differing biomechanical performance. HcB/8 had significantly higher XLR and significantly higher crystallinity than HcB/23. XLR and crystallinity were highly and similarly correlated in both strains. There were no significant differences between the strains' one-dimensional spatial correlation functions, suggesting no difference in short-range order between them. The strong correlation between XLR and crystallinity reflects the interdependence of the protein and mineral elements of bone. The data illustrate the importance of material properties in addition to mineral quantity to bone tissue strength.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Bone mineral and collagen quality in humeri of ovariectomized cynomolgus monkeys given rhPTH(1-34) for 18 months.

A recent study of ovariectomized monkeys, treated with recombinant human parathyroid hormone (rhPTH)(1-34) at 1 or 5 mg/kg/day for 18 months or for 12 months followed by 6 months withdrawal from treatment, showed significant differences in the geometry and histomorphometry of cortical bone of the midshaft humerus. To determine the extent to which the rapid bone turnover and cortical porosity induced by rhPTH(1-34) in ovariectomized monkeys modified mineral content, mineral crystal maturity and collagen maturity (cross-link distribution) in the cortical periosteal and endosteal regions, cross-sections of the cortical bone of the mid-humerus, were examined using Fourier transform infrared imaging (FTIRI). FTIRI analyses demonstrated that rhPTH(1-34) altered bone mineral and collagen properties in a dose-dependent manner. Mineral crystal maturity and collagen cross-link ratio (pyridinoline/dehydro-dihydroxylysinonorleucine) on both endosteal and periosteal surfaces decreased relative to ovariectomized animals, consistent with new bone formation. These changes were partially sustained after withdrawal of the higher dose of rhPTH(1-34), suggesting a prolonged after-effect on bone properties for at least two bone remodeling cycles. In conclusion, treatment of ovariectomized monkeys with rhPTH(1-34) had significant effects on cortical bone mineral-to-matrix ratio, mineral crystal maturity, and collagen cross-link ratio. These were fully reversible when the 1-microg rhPTH(1-34) treatment was withdrawn, but only partially reversed when the 5-microg rhPTH(1-34) dose was withdrawn.

Animals↗

Infrared analysis of the mineral and matrix in bones of osteonectin-null mice and their wildtype controls.

Osteonectin function in bone was investigated by infrared analysis of bones from osteonectin-null (KO) and wildtype mice (four each at 11, 17, and 36 weeks). An increase in mineral content and crystallinity in newly formed KO bone and collagen maturity at all sites was found using FTIR microspectroscopy and imaging; consistent with osteonectin's postulated role in regulating bone formation and remodeling. Mineral and matrix properties of tibias of osteonectin-null mice and their age- and background-matched wildtype controls were compared using Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy (FTIRM) and infrared imaging (FTIRI) at 10- and 7-mm spatial resolution, respectively. The bones came from animals that were 11, 17, and 36 weeks of age. Individual FTIRM spectra were acquired from 20 x 20 microm areas, whereas 4096 simultaneous FTIRI spectra were acquired from 400 x 400 microm areas. The FTIRM data for mineral-to-matrix, mineral crystallinity, and collagen maturity were highly correlated with the FTIRI data in similar regions. In general, the osteonectin-null mice bones had higher mineral contents and greater crystallinity (crystal size and perfection) than the age-matched wildtype controls. Specifically, the mineral content of the newly forming periosteal bone was increased in the osteonectin-null mice; the crystallinity of the cortical bone was decreased in all but the oldest animals, relative to the wildtype. The most significant finding, however, was increased collagen maturity in both the cortical and trabecular bone of the osteonectin-null mice. These spectroscopic data are consistent with a mechanism of decreased bone formation and remodeling.

Animals↗

Bone morphogenetic protein-2 restores mineralization in glucocorticoid-inhibited MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cultures.

UNLABELLED: The anti-glucocorticoid potential of BMP-2 in osteoblasts was tested in MC3T3-E1 cells using dexamethasone (1 microM) and rhBMP-2 (10 or 100 ng/ml). rhBMP-2 restored mineralization but not condensation or collagen accumulation. These results demonstrate the potential and limitations of BMPs in counteracting glucocorticoids. INTRODUCTION: Pharmacologic glucocorticoids (GCs) inhibit osteoblast function and induce osteoporosis. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) stimulate osteoblast differentiation and bone formation. Here we tested the anti-glucocorticoid potential of BMP-2 in cultured osteoblasts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MC3T3-E1 cells were treated with dexamethasone (DEX; 1 microM) and/or recombinant human BMP-2 (rhBMP-2; 10 or 100 ng/ml). Culture progression was characterized by cell cycle profiling, biochemical assays for DNA, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), collagen, and calcium, and by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of osteoblast phenotypic mRNAs. Mineralization was characterized by Alizarin red and von Kossa staining and by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). RESULTS: DEX inhibited differentiation-related cell cycle, nodule formation, collagen accumulation, osteocalcin, and BMP-2 gene expression as well as mineralization. Replenishment of GC-inhibited cultures with 10 or 100 ng/ml rhBMP-2 dramatically rescued mineral deposition. The rhBMP-2-rescued mineral was bone-like apatite nearly identical to the mineral of control cultures. The rhBMP-2 rescue was associated with increased mRNA levels for alpha1(I) collagen, osteocalcin, and Cbfa1 types I and II, as well as ALP activity. In contrast, rhBMP-2 did not rescue the GC-inhibited differentiation-related cell cycle, nodule formation, or collagen accumulation. When administered alone, rhBMP-2 also increased the mRNA levels for alpha1(I) collagen, osteocalcin, and Cbfa1 types I and II, as well as ALP activity. However, treatment with rhBMP-2 alone inhibited cell cycle progression, nodule formation, and collagen accumulation. Surprisingly, in contrast to its rescue of mineralization in DEX-treated cultures, rhBMP-2 inhibited mineralization in the absence of DEX. In parallel to its bimodal effect on mineralization, rhBMP-2 stimulated endogenous BMP-2 mRNA in the presence of DEX, but inhibited endogenous BMP-2 mRNA in the absence of DEX. CONCLUSIONS: Suppression of BMP-2 gene expression plays a pivotal role in GC inhibition of osteoblast differentiation. However, the inability of rhBMP-2 to rescue the entire osteoblast phenotype suggests BMP-2-independent inhibitory effects of CCs. BMP-2 exerts both positive and negative effects on osteoblasts, possibly depending on the differentiation stage and/or the existing BMP signaling.

Animals↗

Biomineralization: an overview.

Biomineralization describes the deposition of mineral within or outside the cells of living organisms. Examples include iron and gold deposits in bacteria and other unicellular organisms, silicates in algae and diatoms, carbonates in diatoms and nonvertebrates, and calcium phosphates and carbonates in vertebrates. The formation of these deposits involves similar mechanisms, but there are distinctions in each case, and those similarities and distinctions are the subject of this overview. A comparison of the apatitic mineral in bones and teeth is presented as a model for understanding these factors.

Animals↗

Pathogenesis of cartilage calcification: mechanisms of crystal deposition in cartilage.

Apatite crystals form in physiologically calcified tissues, including the hyaline cartilage of the epiphyseal growth plate. While apatite crystals appear as unwanted deposits in other cartilage sites, more frequently, crystalline materials other than or in addition to apatite develop in dystrophic cartilage deposits. These crystalline materials include calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate and other calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate phases, monosodium urate, calcium oxalate, cholesterol, and crystallized proteins. This review describes the physical chemistry of crystal deposition and the events that occur in the growth plate as a basis for understanding the pathogenesis of nonphysiologic crystal deposition in cartilage.

Apatites↗

Alendronate treatment for infants with osteogenesis imperfecta: demonstration of efficacy in a mouse model.

Recent non-placebo-controlled studies of the bisphosphonate pamidronate have shown it to be effective in reducing fractures and improving bone density in infants and children with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). To evaluate the effects of bisphosphonate treatment in a controlled study, the oim/oim mouse model of OI was studied. Nursing infant mouse pups (approximately 2 wk old) with moderate to severe OI (oim/oim mouse) and age- and background-matched control mice (+/+) were treated either with the third-generation bisphosphonate alendronate (ALN), or with saline. Fracture risk, bone quality, and growth were evaluated over a 12-wk treatment period. ALN at a dose of 0.03 mg/kg/d or saline was administered via s.c. injection to infant oim/oim and wild-type (+/+) mice from 2 to 14 wk of age (n = 20 per subgroup). The average number of fractures sustained by the ALN-treated oim/oim mice was reduced significantly compared with the untreated oim/oim mice (0.7 +/- 0.7 fractures/mouse versus 2.0 +/- 0.2 fractures/mouse). Bone density increased significantly in the femur and the spine with treatment (2.0 +/- 0.5 versus 1.2 +/- 0.5 in femur and 2.1 +/- 0.5 versus1.6 +/- 0.5 in spine). Histologic evaluation revealed the percentage of metaphyseal tibial bone increased significantly with treatment in both +/+ and oim/oim mice. Mechanical testing revealed an increase in structural stiffness for both treated +/+ and oim/oim mice compared with untreated animals. None of the material properties examined were significantly altered with treatment, nor was spinal curvature affected. Weight gain and long bone growth were comparable in the treated and untreated oim/oim mice. In wild-type mice, femur lengths were significantly shorter in the treated mice compared with untreated counterparts. This animal study demonstrates that treatment of OI in mice as early as 2 wk of age with ALN appears to be effective in reducing fractures and increasing bone properties. Based on the data from this study, ALN therapy in infants with OI should prove to be effective.

Alendronate↗

In vivo RANK signaling blockade using the receptor activator of NF-kappaB:Fc effectively prevents and ameliorates wear debris-induced osteolysis via osteoclast depletion without inhibiting osteogenesis.

Prosthesis failure due to wear debris-induced osteolysis remains a major clinical problem and the greatest limitation for total joint arthroplasty. Based on our knowledge of osteoclast involvement in this process and the requirements of receptor activator of NF-kappaB (RANK) signaling in osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption, we investigated the efficacy of RANK blockade in preventing and ameliorating titanium (Ti)-induced osteolysis in a mouse calvaria model. Compared with placebo controls we found that all doses of RANK:Fc above 1 mg/kg intraperitoneally (ip) per 48 h significantly inhibited osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption in response to Ti implanted locally. Complete inhibition occurred at 10 mg/kg ip per 48 h, yielding results that were statistically equivalent to data obtained with Ti-treated RANK-/- mice. We also evaluated the effects of a single injection of RANK:Fc on day 5 on established osteolysis and found that Ti-treated were still depleted for multinucleated tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive (TRAP+) cells 16 days later. More importantly, this osteoclast depletion did not affect bone formation because the bone lost from the osteolysis on day 5 was restored by day 21. An assessment of the quantity and quality of the newly formed bone in these calvariae by calcein labeling and infrared (IR) microscopy, respectively, showed no significant negative effect of RANK:Fc treatment. These studies indicate that osteoclast depletion via RANK blockade is an effective method to prevent and reverse wear debris-induced osteolysis without jeopardizing osteogenesis.

Acid Phosphatase↗