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RESEARCH REPORT |
1 Department of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Box 357132, Seattle, WA 98195-7132, USA;
2 Department of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Washington; and
3 Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington
* corresponding author, rbruth{at}u.washington.edu
| ABSTRACT |
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KEY WORDS: cementoblasts phosphate global gene expression
| INTRODUCTION |
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Genetic defects in several cell membrane proteins that are known to regulate extracellular pyrophosphate (ePPi) levels have been implicated in the regulation of cementum formation (Beertsen et al., 1999). These include PC-1 (NPP1, a nucleoside triphosphate pyrophosphohydrolase), TNAP (tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase), and ANK (ankylosis) (Terkeltaub, 2001). TNAP disruption leads to hypophosphatemia and premature exfoliation of primary teeth. TNAP-/- mice fail to form cementum. PC-1 and ANK mutant mice develop more than 10 times as much cementum, while dentin, the periodontal ligament, and alveolar bone appear to be structurally and functionally normal (Nociti et al., 2002).
The addition of inorganic or ß-glycerol phosphate to cultures of cells involved in the formation of mineralized tissue is essential for mineral formation in vitro. We have determined that 5 mM extracellular inorganic phosphate (ePi) increased transcripts for Dmp1, Opn, Ank, PC-1, and Pit 1 and decreased expression of Bsp, Ocn, Col 1, and Tnap, and that these changes were significantly reduced by foscarnet, an inhibitor of ePi uptake (Foster et al., 2006).
Analysis of these and other data (Harmey et al., 2004) suggests that the modulation of extracellular levels of pyrophosphate/inorganic phosphate (PPi/Pi) is important in the regulation of mineralized tissue formation. The molecular pathway(s) whereby ePi regulates mineralized tissue formation has/have not been fully defined. The purpose of these studies was to test the hypothesis that Pi is a signaling molecule for cementoblasts that induces changes in the expression of currently unidentified groups of functionally related genes critical to cementogenesis. To systematically identify the mechanisms by which Pi alters cell function and, specifically, gene expression over time, we examined the effects of 5 mM extracellular Pi (ePi), over a designated time period, on global patterns of gene expression in an immortalized, cloned line of cementoblasts in vitro.
| MATERIALS & METHODS |
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Gene Expression Experiments
Our immortalized clones of murine cementoblasts were plated in 60-mm dishes at a concentration of 2.6 x 104 cells/cm2 and maintained in Dulbeccos Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) supplemented with penicillin, streptomycin, and glutamine. Upon reaching confluence, media were changed to DMEM with 5% FBS, and experimental treatments were added. Phosphate was added to media at a dose of 5 mM. The selection of this dose was based on our earlier data (Foster et al., 2006). A stock solution of 100 mM Pi was made in DMEM media at a pH of 7.4, and filter-sterilized. Total RNA was isolated with Trizol® Reagent (Invitrogen/GIBCO/BRL, Carlsbad, CA, USA) at the indicated times after the initial addition of 5 mM Pi. The Agilent Bioanalyzer 2100 (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA, USA) was used to ensure RNA quality (unpublished observations).
Real-time RT-PCR
Selected genes were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR as described (Foster et al., 2006). For real-time RT-PCR analysis, RNA was converted to cDNA, and 2.0 µL of the resulting cDNA product was used per 20-µL reaction in a real-time PCR Roche LightCycler system (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany). PCR reactions were carried out with the DNA Master SYBR Green I kit (Roche Diagnostic Co., Indianapolis, IN, USA), with a total volume of 20 µL. Primers were designed by LightCycler probe design software (Roche GmbH, Mannheim, Germany). A BLAST search of GenBank was performed on the primer sequences to ensure specificity, and melting curve analysis of products was additionally performed to ensure specificity. Expression was analyzed for genes of interest with GAPDH serving as a housekeeping/reference gene for normalization. The amplification profile used on the LightCycler was: 95/0, 55/7, 72/20 (temperature [°C]/time [sec]), and 3540 cycles. Primer sequences used are listed in the Table
. All primers were used at a concentration of 0.5 µM (except DMP1, used at 0.25 µM to optimize PCR conditions), in 3 mM MgCl2.
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Microarray Scanning
We obtained fluorescent-intensity raw data by scanning hybridized arrays (CodelinkTM) using an Axon GenePix 4000B fluorescent scanner and the GenePix Pro imaging software. Fluorescent intensity of each spot in the image was determined with ImaGeneTM 5 software (Biodiscovery, Marina del Rey, CA, USA) for spot-finding and quantitative analysis. Statistical analysis and data normalization were carried out with Bioconductor software. The spot-quantified data files were input into Bioconductor for further processing. Recent reports in statistical analysis of the background correction have pointed out the disadvantages of background correction due to large increases in variance. Therefore, foreground spot intensities from all Codelink Bioarrays were normalized as a group, by quantile normalization as described (Bolstad et al., 2003).
We estimated reproducibility by calculating the coefficient of variation, CV, for the biologically replicated (triplicate) arrays. For an estimate of overall variability (biological plus technical), we used 3 arrays with RNA from 3 different "no treatment" cultures at 24 hrs to calculate an overall median CV of 0.044, 3 arrays with RNA from 3 different "no treatment" cultures at 48 hrs to calculate an overall median CV of 0.038, 3 arrays with RNA from 3 different ± 5 mM phosphate cultures at 24 hrs to calculate an overall median CV of 0.041, and 3 arrays with RNA from 3 different ± 5 mM Pi cultures at 48 hrs to calculate an overall median CV of 0.041. These CV values are within the manufacturers quality specifications for technical variability, and are similar to values reported elsewhere (Ramakrishnan et al., 2002).
Differentially expressed genes between the no-treatment groups and the ± 5 mM Pi groups at each time interval were determined by a modified t test followed by a correction for false-discovery rate, FDR (FDR = 0.05), as described elsewhere (Storey and Tibshirani, 2003). These significant gene lists were subsequently analyzed by GenMAPP and MAPPFinder (Doniger et al., 2003), with
± two-fold as the selection criteria. Experiments, data management, analyses, and storage complied with MIAME standards (Brazma et al., 2001).
| RESULTS |
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Statistically validated gene lists from the array experiments were analyzed by GenMAPP2 and MAPPFinder2 (Doniger et al., 2003), as an initial step for elucidating the biological processes and functions served by ePi-altered genes. Using
± two-fold change as the limiting criterion, we identified several GO (Gene Ontology) groups of interest (Table
, Appendix) for possible further hypothesis formulation and testing. Based on this information, we have chosen to focus initially on transcription factors and Wnt signaling as possible early mediators of ePi signaling.
Alterations in transcription factor genes were among the earliest detected changes. Egr (early growth response) 1 and 2 were elevated at 1 hr and declined to undetectable levels by 3 and 6 hrs, respectively (Fig. 1
). Foxc2 (forkhead box c2) was elevated by 3 hrs and sustained through 24 hrs of ePi treatment (Fig. 1
). The expression of osterix (Nakashima et al., 2002) and of the transcriptional/developmental regulator Id2 (Peng et al., 2004) was strongly depressed for up to 24 and 48 hrs, respectively. In total, the expression of 18 GO-listed transcription factors met our pre-set limiting criterion of
± two-fold in 5 mM ePi-treated cementoblasts (Appendix).
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| DISCUSSION |
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Transcription Factors
Our hypothesis holds that if ePi is a signaling molecule, then ePi-induced alterations in the expression of transcription factor genes are likely an early event in the regulation of cementogenesis. In this regard, the enhanced expression of Foxc2 and the simultaneous decline in the levels of both osterix and Id2 (Fig. 1
) are of particular interest. Foxc2 (that is, Mfh-1), implicated in the proliferation and differentiation of neural-crest-derived mesenchymal cells, has been localized to the perichondrium of developing endochondral bones (Nifuji et al., 2001). The null mutants have craniofacial and other skeletal defects (Nifuji et al., 2001). The zinc finger transcription factor Egr 1, enhanced by 1 hr, is expressed in developing teeth (Karavanova et al., 1992) and joints (Storm and Kingsley, 1999). Interestingly, an Egr 2 binding site is a glucocorticoid-sensitive enhancer of Ocn in osteoblasts (Leclerc et al., 2005), and Egr2-/- mice develop osteoporosis (Levi et al., 1996).
Osterix and Runx2 regulate the differentiation of osteoblasts in intramembranous as well as endochrondral bones (Zelzer and Olsen, 2003), possibly by distinct pathways (Celil et al., 2005). The expression of Id2one of a family of genes that inhibit basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors and thereby regulate transcription, development, and cell differentiation (Kreider et al., 1992)must be decreased for terminal differentiation of osteoblasts (Peng et al., 2004). Cementoblast expression of BMP4, which stimulates the early expression of Id2 in osteoblasts, is repressed by ePi (Appendix), while TOB1, an inhibitor of BMP signaling, is enhanced after 24 hrs (Appendix). These intriguing findings, suggesting that ePi diminishes genes associated with bone formation while enhancing a transcription factor (Foxc2) promoting osteoblast differentiation, support the need for functional studies on the role of these genes in cementoblasts and cementogenesis.
Wnt Signaling
The analysis of existing data demonstrates a role for Wnt signaling in bone formation or remodeling (Glass et al., 2005) and tooth development (Pispa and Thesleff, 2003). In this regard, the ability of ePi to alter the expression pattern of genes involved in Wnt signaling is of interest. The expression of one secreted blocker of canonical Wnt signaling, Sfrp 4, was enhanced, while that of another, Wif 1, was depressed. Two Wnt signaling genes, Wnt 10b and Wnt 4, were diminished, as was the level of the membrane-bound inhibitor Dkk 3 (Dickkoff) (Fig. 2
). Sfrp 4 (Leimeister et al., 1998) and Wnt 10b (Thesleff et al., 2001) are expressed in developing teeth, and Sfrp 4 has been identified as a potential phosphatonin (Quarles, 2003), a putative circulating regulator of phosphate concentration. Interestingly, Id2 expression, elevated in C3H10T1/2 and C2C12 cells by BMPs 2, 6, and 9 (Peng et al., 2004), is a target of ß-catenin (Rockman et al., 2001). BMP4 was depressed in cementoblasts by ePi (Appendix), while BMP 6 and 9 were not detected. Analysis of these data suggests a complex interaction between phosphate regulation and Wnt signaling in cementogenesis (Fig. 3
). The regulation of Wnt pathways is also complex, with several pathways leading to ß-catenin stabilization (Jones and Jomary, 2002). It is possible that the Pi-related decrease in Wnt signaling results in decreased levels of ß-catenin and Id2 expression (Fig. 3
). A vital role for Wnt signaling in the regulation of mineralized tissue formation is emerging (Glass et al., 2005). Ppap2b (that is, type 1 collagen-inducible protein, VCIP) increased by 12 hrs and may have a role in cell-cell interactions (Humtsoe et al., 2003).
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It appears that some pathways known to be related to mineralized tissue formation are inhibited by ePi, while others are stimulated in cementoblasts. Precise temporospatial regulation of these pathways may be required for maintaining functional boundaries between mineralized and non-mineralized extracellular matrices, such as the cementum-periodontal ligament junction. Speculative ideas regarding possible interactions of these pathways in the regulation of cementogenesis are depicted in Fig. 3
. The functional significance of the effects of these signals on the regulation of key molecular pathways and the specific pathways in the transduction of ePi signals is under study.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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Received October 21, 2005; Last revision February 24, 2006; Accepted March 20, 2006
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