Extracellular C1qbp inhibits myogenesis by suppressing NFATc1.

Aging and lack of exercise are the most important etiological factors for muscle loss. We hypothesized that new factors that contribute to muscle loss could be identified from ones commonly altered in expression in aged and exercise-limited skeletal muscles. Mouse gastrocnemius muscles were subjected to mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis. The muscle proteomes of hindlimb-unloaded and aged mice were compared to those of exercised and young mice, respectively. C1qbp expression was significantly upregulated in the muscles of both hindlimb-unloaded and aged mice. In vitro myogenic differentiation was not affected by altering intracellular C1qbp expression but was significantly suppressed upon recombinant C1qbp treatment. Additionally, recombinant C1qbp repressed the protein level but not the mRNA level of NFATc1. NFATc1 recruited the transcriptional coactivator p300, leading to the upregulation of acetylated histone H3 levels. Furthermore, NFATc1 silencing inhibited p300 recruitment, downregulated acetylated histone H3 levels, and consequently suppressed myogenic differentiation. The expression of C1qbp was inversely correlated with that of NFATc1 in the gastrocnemius muscles of exercised or hindlimb-unloaded, and young or aged mice. These findings demonstrate a novel role of extracellular C1qbp in suppressing myogenesis by inhibiting the NFATc1/p300 complex. Thus, C1qbp can serve as a novel therapeutic target for muscle loss.

Aortic carboxypeptidase-like protein, a putative myokine, stimulates the differentiation and survival of bone-forming osteoblasts.

A new target that stimulates bone formation is needed to overcome limitations of current anti-osteoporotic drugs. Myokines, factors secreted from muscles, may modulate it. In this study, we investigated the role of aortic carboxypeptidase-like protein (ACLP), which is highly expressed in skeletal muscles, on bone formation. MC3T3-E1 cells and/or calvaria osteoblasts were treated with recombinant N-terminal mouse ACLP containing a signal peptide [rmACLP (N)]. The expression and secretion of ACLP were higher in skeletal muscle and differentiated myotube than in other tissues and undifferentiated myoblasts, respectively. rmACLP (N) increased bone formation, ALP activity, and phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase in osteoblasts; reversal was achieved by pre-treatment with a TGF-ß receptor inhibitor. Under H2 O2 treatment, rmACLP (N) increased osteoblast survival, phosphorylated p38 MAP kinase, and the nuclear translocation of FoxO3a in osteoblasts. H2 O2 treatment caused rmACLP (N) to suppress its apoptotic, oxidative, and caspase-9 activities. rmACLP (N)-stimulated osteoblast survival was reversed by pre-treatment with a p38 inhibitor, a TGF-ß-receptor II blocking antibody, and a FoxO3a shRNA. Conditioned media (CM) from muscle cells stimulated osteoblast survival under H2 O2 treatment, in contrast to CM from ACLP knockdown muscle cells. rmACLP (N) increased the expressions of FoxO3a target anti-oxidant genes such as Sod2, Trx2, and Prx5. In conclusion, ACLP stimulated the differentiation and survival of osteoblasts. This led to the stimulation of bone formation by the activation of p38 MAP kinase and/or FoxO3a via TGF-ß receptors. These findings suggest a novel role for ACLP in bone metabolism as a putative myokine.

Lumican, an Exerkine, Protects against Skeletal Muscle Loss.

Exerkines are soluble factors secreted by exercised muscles, mimicking the effects of exercise in various organs, including the muscle itself. Lumican is reportedly secreted from muscles; however, its roles in skeletal muscle remain unknown. Herein, we found that lumican mRNA expression in the extensor digitorum longus was significantly higher in exercised mice than in unloading mice, and lumican stimulated myogenesis in vitro. Additionally, lumican knockdown significantly decreased muscle mass and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the muscle fiber in the gastrocnemius muscle of exercised mice. Lumican upregulated phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and a p38 inhibitor near completely blocked lumican-stimulated myogenesis. Inhibitors for integrin α2ß1 and integrin ανß3 also prevented lumican-stimulated myogenesis. Systemic lumican treatment, administered via the tail vein for 4 weeks, significantly increased relative muscle masses by 36.1% in ovariectomized mice. In addition, intramuscular lumican injection into unloaded muscles for 2 weeks significantly increased muscle mass by 8.5%. Both intravenous and intramuscular lumican treatment significantly increased muscle CSA. Our in vitro and in vivo experiments indicate that lumican is a muscle-secreted exerkine that affords protection against muscle loss by activating p38 MAPK via integrin receptors.

SLIT3 promotes myogenic differentiation as a novel therapeutic factor against muscle loss.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia and osteoporosis frequently co-occur in the elderly and have common pathophysiological determinants. Slit guidance ligand 3 (SLIT3) has been recently discovered as a novel therapeutic factor against osteoporosis, and a SLIT3 fragment containing the second leucine-rich repeat domain (LRRD2) had a therapeutic efficacy against osteoporosis. However, a role of SLIT3 in the skeletal muscle is unknown. METHODS: Skeletal muscle mass, strength, and/or physical activity were evaluated in Slit3-/- , ovariectomized, and aged mice, based on the measurements of muscle weight and grip strength, Kondziella's inverted hanging test, and/or wheel-running test. Skeletal muscles were also histologically evaluated by haematoxylin and eosin staining and/or immunofluorescence. The ovariectomized and aged mice were intravenously injected with recombinant SLIT3 LRRD2 for 4 weeks. C2C12 cells were used to know cellular effects of SLIT3, such as in vitro myogenesis, fusion, cell viability, and proliferation, and also used to evaluate its molecular mechanisms by immunocytochemistry, immunoprecipitation, western blotting, real-time PCR, siRNA transfection, and receptor-ligand binding ELISA. RESULTS: Slit3-deficient mice exhibited decreased skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical activity. The relative masses of gastrocnemius and soleus were lower in the Slit3-/- mice (0.580 ± 0.039% and 0.033 ± 0.003%, respectively) than those in the WT littermates (0.622 ± 0.043% and 0.038 ± 0.003%, respectively) (all, P < 0.05). Gastrocnemius of Slit3-/- mice showed the reduced number of Type I and Type IIa fibres (all, P < 0.05), but not of Type IIb and Type IIx fibres. SLIT3 activated ß-catenin signalling by promoting its release from M-cadherin, thereby increasing myogenin expression to stimulate myoblast differentiation. In vitro experiments involving ROBO2 expression, knockdown, and interaction with SLIT3 indicated that ROBO2 functions as a SLIT3 receptor to aid myoblast differentiation. SLIT3 LRRD2 dissociated M-cadherin-bound ß-catenin and up-regulated myogenin expression to increase myoblast differentiation, in a manner similar to full-length SLIT3. Systemic treatment with SLIT3 LRRD2 increased skeletal muscle mass in both ovariectomized and aged mice (all, P < 0.05). The relative masses of gastrocnemius and soleus were higher in the treated aged mice (0.548 ± 0.045% and 0.033 ± 0.005%, respectively) than in the untreated aged mice (0.508 ± 0.016% and 0.028 ± 0.003%, respectively) (all, P < 0.05). SLIT3 LRRD2 treatment increased the hanging duration of the aged mice by approximately 1.7-fold (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: SLIT3 plays a sarcoprotective role by activating ß-catenin signalling. SLIT3 LRRD2 can potentially be used as a therapeutic agent against muscle loss.

Regulation of bone metabolism by megakaryocytes in a paracrine manner.

Megakaryocytes (MKs) play key roles in regulating bone metabolism. To test the roles of MK-secreted factors, we investigated whether MK and promegakaryocyte (pro-MK) conditioned media (CM) may affect bone formation and resorption. K562 cell lines were differentiated into mature MKs. Mouse bone marrow macrophages were differentiated into mature osteoclasts, and MC3T3-E1 cells were used for osteoblastic experiments. Bone formation was determined by a calvaria bone formation assay in vivo. Micro-CT analyses were performed in the femurs of ovariectomized female C57B/L6 and Balb/c nude mice after intravenous injections of MK or pro-MK CM. MK CM significantly reduced in vitro bone resorption, largely due to suppressed osteoclastic resorption activity. Compared with pro-MK CM, MK CM suppressed osteoblastic differentiation, but stimulated its proliferation, resulting in stimulation of calvaria bone formation. In ovariectomized mice, treatment with MK CM for 4 weeks significantly increased trabecular bone mass parameters, such as bone volume fraction and trabecular thickness, in nude mice, but not in C57B/L6 mice. In conclusion, MKs may secrete anti-resorptive and anabolic factors that affect bone tissue, providing a novel insight linking MKs and bone cells in a paracrine manner. New therapeutic agents against metabolic bone diseases may be developed from MK-secreted factors.

Osteoclast-secreted SLIT3 coordinates bone resorption and formation.

Coupling is the process that links bone resorption to bone formation in a temporally and spatially coordinated manner within the remodeling cycle. Several lines of evidence point to the critical roles of osteoclast-derived coupling factors in the regulation of osteoblast performance. Here, we used a fractionated secretomic approach and identified the axon-guidance molecule SLIT3 as a clastokine that stimulated osteoblast migration and proliferation by activating ß-catenin. SLIT3 also inhibited bone resorption by suppressing osteoclast differentiation in an autocrine manner. Mice deficient in Slit3 or its receptor, Robo1, exhibited osteopenic phenotypes due to a decrease in bone formation and increase in bone resorption. Mice lacking Slit3 specifically in osteoclasts had low bone mass, whereas mice with either neuron-specific Slit3 deletion or osteoblast-specific Slit3 deletion had normal bone mass, thereby indicating the importance of SLIT3 as a local determinant of bone metabolism. In postmenopausal women, higher circulating SLIT3 levels were associated with increased bone mass. Notably, injection of a truncated recombinant SLIT3 markedly rescued bone loss after an ovariectomy. Thus, these results indicate that SLIT3 plays an osteoprotective role by synchronously stimulating bone formation and inhibiting bone resorption, making it a potential therapeutic target for metabolic bone diseases.

Phorbaketal A inhibits adipogenic differentiation through the suppression of PPARγ-mediated gene transcription by TAZ.

Obesity causes several metabolic diseases, including diabetes. Adipogenic differentiation is an important event for fat formation in obesity. Natural compounds that inhibit adipogenic differentiation are frequently screened to develop therapeutic drugs for treating obesity. Here we investigated the effects of phorbaketal A, a natural marine compound, on adipogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. Phorbaketal A significantly inhibited adipogenic differentiation as indicated by less fat droplets and decreased expression of adipogenic marker genes. The expression of TAZ (transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif), an inhibitor of adipogenic differentiation, significantly increased during adipogenic differentiation in the presence of phorbaketal A. Phorbaketal A increased the interaction of TAZ and PPARγ to suppress PPARγ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ) target gene expression. TAZ-depleted cells showed higher adipogenic potential than that of control cells even in the presence of phorbaketal A. During cellular signaling induced by phorbaketal A, ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) played an important role in adipogenic suppression; an inhibitor of ERK blocked phorbaketal A-induced adipogenic suppression. Thus, the results show that phorbaketal A inhibits adipocyte differentiation through TAZ.

Idesolide inhibits the adipogenic differentiation of mesenchymal cells through the suppression of nitric oxide production.

Obesity is a major health problem worldwide and can increase the risk for several chronic diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In this study, we screened small compounds isolated from natural products for the development of an anti-obesity drug. Among them, idesolide, a spiro compound isolated from the fruits of Idesia polycarpa Maxim, showed a significant suppression of the adipogenic differentiation in mesenchymal cells, as indicated by the decrease in fat droplets and expression of adipogenic marker genes such as aP2 and adiponectin. Idesolide inhibits the PPARγ-mediated gene transcription in a dose-dependent manner, revealed by luciferase reporter gene assay. During adipogenic differentiation, idesolide inhibits nitric oxide production through the suppression of iNOS expression, and the increased adipogenic differentiation by arginine, the substrate for NOS, is significantly inhibited by idesolide, suggesting that the inhibition of nitric oxide production plays a major role in idesolide-induced adipogenic suppression. Taken together, the results reveal that idesolide has anti-adipogenic activity and highlight its potential in the prevention and treatment of obesity.

Antibodies against non-immunizing antigens derived from a large immune scFv library.

Target-specific antibodies can be rapidly enriched and identified from an antibody library using phage display. Large, naïve antibody libraries derived from synthetic or unimmunized sources can yield antibodies against virtually any antigen, whereas libraries from immunized sources tend to be smaller and are used exclusively against the antigen of immunization. In this study, 25 scFv libraries made from the spleens of immunized rabbits, each with a size ranging from 10(8) to higher than 10(9), were combined into a single large library with > 10(10) individual clones. Panning of this combined library yielded target-specific rabbit scFv clones against many non-immunizing antigens, including proteins, peptides, and a small molecule. Notably, specific scFv clones against a rabbit self-antigen (rabbit serum albumin) and a phosphorylated protein (epidermal growth factor receptor pTyr1173) could be isolated from the library. These results suggest that the immune library contained a significant number of unimmunized clones and that a sufficiently large immune library can be utilized similarly to a naïve library, i.e., against various non-immunizing antigens to yield specific antibodies.