Syndecan-3 enhances anabolic bone formation through WNT signaling.

Osteoporosis is the most common age-related metabolic bone disorder, which is characterized by low bone mass and deterioration in bone architecture, with a propensity to fragility fractures. The best treatment for osteoporosis relies on stimulation of osteoblasts to form new bone and restore bone structure, however, anabolic therapeutics are few and their use is time restricted. Here, we report that Syndecan-3 increases new bone formation through enhancement of WNT signaling in osteoblasts. Young adult Sdc3-/- mice have low bone volume, reduced bone formation, increased bone marrow adipose tissue, increased bone fragility, and a blunted anabolic bone formation response to mechanical loading. This premature osteoporosis-like phenotype of Sdc3-/- mice is due to delayed osteoblast maturation and impaired osteoblast function, with contributing increased osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. Indeed, overexpressing Sdc3 in osteoblasts using the Col1a1 promoter rescues the low bone volume phenotype of the Sdc3-/- mice, and also increases bone volume in WT mice. Mechanistically, SDC3 enhances canonical WNT signaling in osteoblasts through stabilization of Frizzled 1, making SDC3 an attractive target for novel bone anabolic drug development.

Zoledronic acid prevents pagetic-like lesions and accelerated bone loss in the p62P394L mouse model of Paget's disease.

Paget's disease of bone (PDB) is an age-related metabolic bone disorder, characterised by focally increased and disorganised bone remodelling initiated by abnormal and hyperactive osteoclasts. The germline P392L mutation of SQSTM1 (encoding p62) is a strong genetic risk factor for PDB in humans, and the equivalent mutation in mice (P394L) causes a PDB-like disorder. However, it is unclear why pagetic lesions become more common with age. Here, we assessed the effect of the p62 P394L mutation on osteoclastogenesis and bone morphometry in relation to ageing, the natural history of lesion progression in p62P394L mice and the effect of zoledronic acid (ZA) on lesion development. p62P394L+/+ osteoclast precursors had increased sensitivity to RANKL (also known as TNFSF11) compared with wild-type (WT) cells, and the sensitivity further increased in both genotypes with ageing. Osteoclastogenesis from 12-month-old p62P394L+/+ mice was twofold greater than that from 3-month-old p62P394L+/+ mice (P<0.001) and three-fold greater than that from age-matched WT littermates. The p62P394L+/+ mice lost 33% more trabecular bone volume in the long bones by 12 months compared with WT mice (P<0.01), and developed pagetic-like lesions in the long bones which progressed with ageing. ZA prevented the development of pagetic-like lesions, and increased trabecular bone volume tenfold compared with vehicle by 12 months of age (P<0.01). This demonstrates that ageing has a pro-osteoclastogenic effect, which is further enhanced by the p62 P394L mutation, providing an explanation for the increased penetrance of bone lesions with age in this model. Lesions are prevented by ZA, providing a rationale for early intervention in humans.

Analysis of Nkx3.1:Cre-driven Erk5 deletion reveals a profound spinal deformity which is linked to increased osteoclast activity.

Extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 5 (ERK5) has been implicated during development and carcinogenesis. Nkx3.1-mediated Cre expression is a useful strategy to genetically manipulate the mouse prostate. While grossly normal at birth, we observed an unexpected phenotype of spinal protrusion in Nkx3.1:Cre;Erk5 fl/fl (Erk5 fl/fl) mice by ~6-8 weeks of age. X-ray, histological and micro CT (µCT) analyses showed that 100% of male and female Erk5 fl/fl mice had a severely deformed curved thoracic spine, with an associated loss of trabecular bone volume. Although sex-specific differences were observed, histomorphometry measurements revealed that both bone resorption and bone formation parameters were increased in male Erk5 fl/fl mice compared to wild type (WT) littermates. Osteopenia occurs where the rate of bone resorption exceeds that of bone formation, so we investigated the role of the osteoclast compartment. We found that treatment of RANKL-stimulated primary bone marrow-derived macrophage (BMDM) cultures with small molecule ERK5 pathway inhibitors increased osteoclast numbers. Furthermore, osteoclast numbers and expression of osteoclast marker genes were increased in parallel with reduced Erk5 expression in cultures generated from Erk5 fl/fl mice compared to WT mice. Collectively, these results reveal a novel role for Erk5 during bone maturation and homeostasis in vivo.

Developing a saltmarsh classification tool for the European water framework directive.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) identifies marine angiosperms (seagrasses and saltmarshes) as one of the biological elements used to classify water body status. This paper concentrates on the saltmarsh classification tools currently under development in the UK and RoI by the Marine Plants Task Team (MPTT) of the UK Technical Advisory Group (UK TAG). Saltmarsh classification is presently focusing on habitat extent, zonation and species diversity in order to fulfil the requirements of the WFD normative definitions. One of the many issues is that the natural rates of erosion and/or accretion differ between locations - this spatial and temporal natural variation is difficult to quantify; the tools and reference conditions developed will need to take this into consideration. To accurately quantify the classification boundaries and natural variability has posed a number of challenges; possible solutions are identified in this paper. Novel future classifications may also include saltmarsh ecosystem functioning (e.g., as a marine fish nursery) which may be further developed in an integrated saltmarsh tool.