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Cissus quadrangularis Linn. has been implicated as therapeutic agent for enhancing bone healing. Though its osteogenic activity has been suggested, the underlying mechanism still remains unclear. In the present study, the effects of ethanol extract of C. quadrangularis (CQ-E) on osteoblast differentiation and function were analyzed using murine osteoblastic cells. The results indicated that mRNA expressions of osteoblast-related genes were not affected by the CQ-E treatment. However, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the extent of mineralized nodules were significantly increased in treated cells compared with controls. The addition of an extracellular regulated kinase 1/2 inhibitor, a Jun N-terminal kinase 1/2/3 inhibitor and a p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor resulted in significantly decreased ALP activity, preferentially by p38 MAPK inhibitor. These results suggested that CQ-E may regulate osteoblastic activity by enhancing ALP activity and mineralization process, and the increased ALP activity effect of CQ-E is likely mediated by MAPK-dependent pathway.

Decorin (DCN) is one of the major matrix proteoglycans in bone. To investigate the role of DCN in matrix mineralization, the expression of DCN in MC3T3-E1 (MC) cell cultures and the phenotypes of MC-derived clones expressing higher (sense; S-DCN) or lower (antisense; AS-DCN) levels of DCN were characterized. DCN expression was significantly decreased as the mineralized nodules were formed and expanded in vitro. In S-DCN clones, in vitro matrix mineralization was inhibited, whereas in AS-DCN clones, mineralization was accelerated. At the microscopic level, collagen fibers in S-DCN clones were thinner while those of AS-DCN clones were thicker and lacked directionality compared to the controls. At the ultrastructural level, the collagen fibrils in S-DCN clones were markedly thinner, whereas those of AS-DCN clones were larger and irregular in shape. The results from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that in AS-DCN cultures the mineral content was greater but the crystallinity of mineral was poorer than that of the controls at early stage of mineralization. The in vivo transplantation assay demonstrated that no mineralized matrices were formed in S-DCN transplants, whereas they were readily detected in AS-DCN transplants at 3 weeks of transplantation. The areas of bone-like matrices in AS-DCN transplants were significantly greater than the controls at 3 weeks but became comparable at 5 weeks. The bone-like matrices in AS-DCN transplants exhibited woven bone-like non-lamellar structure while the lamellar bone-like structure was evident in the control transplants. These results suggest that DCN regulates matrix mineralization by modulating collagen assembly.

Bisphosphonates have been prescribed for the treatments of oncologic and metabolic bone diseases to inhibit bone resorption of osteoclasts. However, in recent years, the increased numbers of cases diagnosed with exposed and necrotic bone localized in the jawbones associated with bisphosphonate use have been reported, mostly in patients with multiple myeloma or bone metastases who received long-term intravenous bisphosphonate treatments. The strong association between patients receiving dentoalveolar surgery and the incidence of this complication highlights the need for multidisciplinary approaches and necessitates the close attention from a team of health care personnel. The present review summarizes the current knowledge on etiology, risk factors, clinical presentations, and recommended preventive measures and managements for afflicted patients. In light of recent available data and because stanterdized management strategies have not been well established, prevention seems to be of paramount benefit to this group of patients.

The pattern of collagen cross-linking is tissue specific primarily determined by the extent of hydroxylation and oxidation of specific lysine residues in the molecule. In this study, murine pre-myoblast cell line, C2C12 cells, were transdifferentiated into osteoblastic cells by bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 treatment, and the gene expression of lysyl hydroxylases (LH1, 2a/b, and 3) and lysyl oxidase (LOX)/lysyl oxidase-like proteins (LOXL1-4), and the extent of hydroxylysine were analyzed. After 24h of treatment, the expression of most isoforms were upregulated up to 96h whereas LH2a and LOXL2 decreased with time. In the treated cells, both hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine were detected at day 7 and increased at day 14. The ratio of hydroxylysine to hydroxyproline was significantly increased at day 14. The results indicate that LHs and LOX/LOXLs are differentially responsive to BMP-induced osteoblast differentiation that may eventually lead to the specific collagen cross-linking pattern seen in bone.

In a search of new, small leucine-rich repeat proteoglycan/protein (SLRP) family members, a novel gene, nephrocan (NPN), has been identified. The gene consists of three exons, and based on the deduced amino acid sequence, NPN has 17 leucine-rich repeat motifs and unique cysteine-rich clusters both in the N and C termini, indicating that this gene belongs to a new class of SLRP family. NPN mRNA was predominantly expressed in kidney in adult mice, and during mouse embryogenesis, the expression was markedly increased in 11-day-old embryos at a time when early kidney development takes place. In the adult mouse kidney, NPN protein was located in distal tubules and collecting ducts. When NPN was overexpressed in cell culture, the protein was detected in the cultured medium, and upon treatment with N-glycosidase F, the molecular mass was lowered by approximately 14 kDa, indicating that NPN is a secreted N-glycosylated protein. Furthermore, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)-responsive 3TP promoter luciferase activity was down-regulated, and TGF-beta-induced Smad3 phosphorylation was also inhibited by NPN, suggesting that NPN suppresses TGF-beta/Smad signaling. Taken together, NPN is a novel member of the SLRP family that may play important roles in kidney development and pathophysiology by functioning as an endogenous inhibitor of TGF-beta signaling.

Unlabelled: MC3T3-E1 cell-derived clones expressing higher (S) or lower (AS) levels of biglycan were generated and characterized. The processes of cell differentiation and matrix mineralization were accelerated in S but delayed in AS, indicating that BGN modulates osteoblastic cell differentiation., Introduction: Biglycan (BGN), a member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan family, is one of the major proteoglycans found in bone and has been implicated in bone formation. In this study, the effects of over- or underexpression of BGN on osteoblastic cell phenotypes and matrix mineralization were studied., Materials and Methods: MC3T3-E1 cells were transfected with vectors containing the BGN cDNA in a sense or antisense orientation to generate clones expressing higher (S clones) or lower (AS clones) levels of BGN. MC3T3-E1 cells and those transfected with an empty vector (EV) were used as controls. The levels of BGN synthesized by these clones were evaluated by Western blot analysis. Cell growth was analyzed by cell counting and cell differentiation by the gene expression patterns of several osteoblastic markers using quantitative real-time PCR. The abilities of these clones to form mineralized matrices were evaluated by in vitro and in vivo mineralization assays. Furthermore, the clones were treated with BMP-4 and their responsiveness was assessed., Results: The cell growth in these clones was unaffected; however, osteoblast differentiation was significantly accelerated in S clones and suppressed in AS clones. The in vitro matrix mineralization in S clones was significantly enhanced but severely impaired in AS clones. When transplanted into immunodeficient mice, S clone transplants exhibited larger areas of lamellar bonelike matrices, whereas only minute amounts of woven bone-type structure was found in AS transplants. The response to BMP-4 was higher in S clones but poorer in AS clones compared with that of controls., Conclusions: BGN modulates osteoblast differentiation, possibly by regulating BMP signaling, and consequently matrix mineralization.

Covalent intermolecular cross-linking of collagen is initiated by the action of lysyl oxidase (LOX) on the telopeptidyl lysine and hydroxylysine residues. Recently, several LOX isoforms, i.e., LOX-like proteins 1-4 (LOXL1-4), have been identified but their specific tissue distribution and functions are still largely unknown. In this study, mRNA expression of LOX and LOXL1-4 in MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells was screened by RT-PCR and quantitatively analyzed by real-time PCR during cell differentiation and matrix mineralization. The results demonstrated that LOX and all LOXLs, except LOXL2, were expressed in this cell line and that the expression pattern during cell differentiation and matrix mineralization was distinct from one another. This indicates that the expression of LOX and its isoforms is highly regulated during osteoblast differentiation, suggesting their distinct roles in collagen matrix stabilization and subsequent mineralization.