Expression of the prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) receptor subtype EP(4) and its regulation by PGE(2) in osteoblastic cell lines and adult rat bone tissue.

Prostaglandins E (especially PGE(2)) stimulate bone formation and increase bone mass in several species including man. The mechanism for this effect, the target cells, and the receptors involved are not known. Specific cell-surface receptors for PGE(2) (EP(1-4)) have been cloned and characterized. EP(4) was reported to be the major receptor in embryonic and neonatal bone tissue in mice, especially in preosteoblasts; however, no data are available regarding its expression in adult bone. This study examines the expression of EP(4) in bone tissue of young adult rats, in which PGE(2) is markedly anabolic, and in various osteoblastic cell lines. Using northern blot analysis, we found that osteoblastic cell lines RCT-1, RCT-3, TRAB-11, and RP-1, primary osteoblastic cells harvested from fetal rat calvaria, as well as tibiae and calvariae of 5-week-old rats express 3.8 kb EP(4) messenger RNA (mRNA). Treatment of periosteal cells (RP-1) in vitro with 10(-6) mol/L PGE(2) increased the levels of both EP(4) mRNA and EP(4) protein, peaking at 1-2 h. Similarly, systemic administration of an anabolic dose of PGE(2) (3-6 mg/kg) to young adult rats upregulated the expression of EP(4) in the tibia and calvaria, also peaking at 1-2 h. Using in situ hybridization, we found increased expression of EP(4) in bone marrow cells of the tibial metaphysis in response to systemic PGE(2) treatment. The preosteoblastic nature of these EP(4)-expressing cells was suggested by the fact that dexamethasone-treated bone marrow stromal cells in culture express EP(4) mRNA, which is upregulated by PGE(2). Northern blot analysis failed to detect both basal and PGE(2)-induced EP(2) mRNA in the bone samples or cell lines tested. Taken together, these data implicate EP(4) as the major cyclic AMP-related PGE(2) receptor subtype expressed in bone tissue and osteoblastic cells and indicate that this receptor is upregulated by its ligand, PGE(2).

The anabolic effect of PGE2 in rat bone marrow cultures is mediated via the EP4 receptor subtype.

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is an anabolic agent in vivo that stimulates bone formation by recruiting osteoblasts from bone marrow precursors. To understand which of the known PGE2 receptors (EP1-4) is involved in this process, we tested the effect of PGE2 and various EP agonists and/or antagonists on osteoblastic differentiation in cultures of bone marrow cells by counting bone nodules and measuring alkaline phosphatase activity. PGE2 increased both parameters, peaking at 100 nM, an effect that was mimicked by forskolin and was abolished by 2',3'-dideoxyadenosine (an adenylate cyclase inhibitor) and was thus cAMP dependent, pointing to the involvement of EP2 or EP4. Consistently, 17-phenyl-omega-trinor PGE2 (EP1 agonist) and sulprostone (EP3/EP1 agonist) lacked any anabolic activity. Furthermore, butaprost (EP2 agonist) was inactive, 11-deoxy-PGE1 (EP4/EP2 agonist) was as effective as PGE2, and the PGE2 effect was abolished dose dependently by the selective EP4 antagonist AH-23848B, suggesting the involvement of EP4. We also found that PGE2 increased nodule formation and AP activity when added for the initial attachment period of 24 h only. Thus this study shows that PGE2 stimulates osteoblastic differentiation in bone marrow cultures, probably by activating the EP4 receptor, and that this effect may involve recruitment of noncommitted (nonadherent) osteogenic precursors, in agreement with its suggested mode of operation in vivo.