Vascular development during distraction osteogenesis proceeds by sequential intramuscular arteriogenesis followed by intraosteal angiogenesis.

Vascular formation is intimately associated with bone formation during distraction osteogenesis (DO). While prior studies on this association have focused on vascular formation locally within the regenerate, we hypothesized that this vascular formation, as well as the resulting osteogenesis, relies heavily on the response of the vascular network in surrounding muscular compartments. To test this hypothesis, the spatiotemporal sequence of vascular formation was assessed in both muscular and osseous compartments in a murine model of DO and was compared to the progression of osteogenesis. Micro-computed tomography (µCT) scans were performed sequentially, before and after demineralization, on specimens containing contrast-enhanced vascular casts. Image registration and subtraction procedures were developed to examine the co-related, spatiotemporal patterns of vascular and osseous tissue formation. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess the contributory roles of arteriogenesis (formation of large vessels) and angiogenesis (formation of small vessels) to overall vessel formation. Mean vessel thickness showed an increasing trend during the period of active distraction (p=0.068), whereas vessel volume showed maximal increases during the consolidation period (p=0.009). The volume of mineralized tissue in the regenerate increased over time (p<0.039), was correlated with vessel volume (r=0.59; p=0.025), and occurred primarily during consolidation. Immunohistological data suggested that: 1) the period of active distraction was characterized primarily by arteriogenesis in the surrounding muscle; 2) during consolidation, angiogenesis predominated in the intraosteal region; and 3) vessel formation proceeded from the surrounding muscle into the regenerate. These data show that formation of vascular tissue occurs in both muscular and osseous compartments during DO and that periods of intense osteogenesis are concurrent with those of angiogenesis. The results further suggest the presence of morphogenetic factors that coordinate the development of vascular tissues from the intramuscular compartment into the regions of osseous regeneration.

The transcriptome of fracture healing defines mechanisms of coordination of skeletal and vascular development during endochondral bone formation.

Fractures initiate one round of endochondral bone formation in which callus cells differentiate in a synchronous manner that temporally phenocopies the spatial variation of endochondral development of a growth plate. During fracture healing C57BL/6J (B6) mice initiate chondrogenesis earlier and develop more cartilage than bone, whereas C3H/HeJ (C3H) mice initiate osteogenesis earlier and develop more bone than cartilage. Comparison of the transcriptomes of fracture healing in these strains of mice identified the genes that showed differences in timing and quantitative expression and encode for the variations in endochondral bone development of the two mouse strains. The complement of strain-dependent differences in gene expression was specifically associated with ontologies related to both skeletal and vascular formation. Moreover, the differences in gene expression associated with vascular tissue formation during fracture healing were correlated with the underlying differences in development and function of the cardiovascular systems of these two strains of mice. Significant differences in gene expression associated with bone morphogenetic protein/transforming growth factor ß (BMP/TGF-ß) signal-transduction pathways were identified between the two strains, and a network of differentially expressed genes specific to the MAP kinase cascade was further defined as a subset of the genes of the BMP/TGF-ß pathways. Other signal-transduction pathways that showed significant strain-specific differences in gene expression included the RXR/PPAR and G protein-related pathways. These data identify how bone and vascular regeneration are coordinated through expression of common sets of transcription and morphogenetic factors and suggest that there is heritable linkage between vascular and skeletal tissue development during postnatal regeneration.

Bone formation during distraction osteogenesis is dependent on both VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 signaling.

INTRODUCTION: Distraction osteogenesis (DO) is characterized by the induction of highly vascularized new bone formation through an intramembranous process largely devoid of the formation of cartilage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To test the hypothesis that DO is strictly dependent on vascualrization, we inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) activity by antibody blockade of both receptors VEGFR1 (Flt-1) and VEGFR2 (Flk-1) or only VEGFR2 (Flk-1) in a previously developed murine tibia DO model. During normal DO, VEGFR1 (Flt-1), VEGFR2 (Flk-1), VEGFR3 (Flt4) and all four VEGF ligand (A, B, C, and D) mRNAs are induced. RESULTS: The expression of mRNA for the receptors generally paralleled those of the ligands during the period of active distraction. Bone formation, as assessed by muCT, showed a significant decrease with the double antibody treatment and a smaller decrease with single antibody treatment. Vessel volume, number, and connectivity showed progressive and significant inhibition in all of these of parameters between the single and double antibody blockade. Molecular analysis showed significant inhibition in skeletal cell development with the single and double antibody blockade of both VEGFR1 and 2. Interestingly, the single antibody treatment led to selective early development of chondrogenesis, whereas the double antibody treatment led to a failure of both osteogenesis and chondrogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: Both VEGFR1 and VEGFR2 are functionally essential in blood vessel and bone formation during DO and are needed to promote osteogenic over chondrogenic lineage progression.

Increased expression of Wnt2 and SFRP4 in Tsk mouse skin: role of Wnt signaling in altered dermal fibrillin deposition and systemic sclerosis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex human disorder characterized by progressive skin fibrosis. To better understand the molecular basis of dermal fibrosis in SSc, we analyzed microarray gene expression in skin of the Tight-skin (Tsk) mouse, an animal model where skin fibrosis is caused by an in-frame duplication in fibrillin-1 (Fbn-1). Tsk skin showed increased mRNA levels of several genes involved in Wnt signaling, including Wnt2, Wnt9a, Wnt10b and Wnt11; Dapper homolog antagonist of beta-catenin (DACT1) and DACT2; Wnt-induced secreted protein 2; and secreted frizzled-related protein (SFRP)2 and SFRP4. RNase protection and northern blot confirmed microarray results. Furthermore, Wnt3a markedly stimulated matrix assembly of microfibrillar proteins, including Fbn-1, by cultured fibroblasts, suggesting that Wnts contribute to increased microfibrillar matrices in Tsk skin. Further analysis showed that SFRP4 expression is specifically increased in tissues expressing Tsk-Fbn-1, such as skeletal muscle and skin. The increase in SFRP4 mRNA in Tsk skin started 2 weeks after birth, following the increase in Wnt2 mRNA that occurred at birth. This suggests that SFRP4 may modulate Wnt functions in Tsk skin fibrosis. Lesional skin from SSc patients also showed large increases in SFRP4 mRNA and protein levels in the deep dermis compared to healthy skin, suggesting that the Wnt pathway might regulate skin fibrosis in SSc.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of fracture callus morphogenesis.

Rat and mouse femur and tibia fracture calluses were collected over various time increments of healing. Serial sections were produced at spatial segments across the fracture callus. Standard histological methods and in situ hybridization to col1a1 and col2a1 mRNAs were used to define areas of cartilage and bone formation as well as tissue areas undergoing remodeling. Computer-assisted reconstructions of histological sections were used to generate three-dimensional images of the spatial morphogenesis of the fracture calluses. Endochondral bone formation occurred in an asymmetrical manner in both the femur and tibia, with cartilage tissues seen primarily proximal or distal to the fractures in the respective calluses of these bones. Remodeling of the calcified cartilage proceeded from the edges of the callus inward toward the fracture producing an inner-supporting trabecular structure over which a thin outer cortical shell forms. These data suggest that the specific developmental mechanisms that control the asymmetrical pattern of endochondral bone formation in fracture healing recapitulated the original asymmetry of development of a given bone because femur and tibia grow predominantly from their respective distal and proximal physis. These data further show that remodeling of the calcified cartilage produces a trabecular bone structure unique to fracture healing that provides the rapid regain in weight-bearing capacity to the injured bone.