Cartilage Ablation of Sirt1 Causes Inhibition of Growth Plate Chondrogenesis by Hyperactivation of mTORC1 Signaling.

A growing body of evidence implies a pivotal role of sirtuin-1 (Sirt1) in chondrocyte function and homeostasis; however, its underlying mechanisms mediating chondrogenesis, which is an essential process for physiological skeletal growth, are still poorly understood. In the current study, we generated TamCartSirt1-/- [Sirt1 conditional knockout (cKO)] mice to explore the role of Sirt1 during postnatal endochondral ossification. Compared with control mice, cKO mice exhibited growth retardation associated with inhibited chondrocyte proliferation and hypertrophy, as well as activated apoptosis. These effects were regulated by hyperactivation of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling, and thereby inhibition of autophagy and induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress in growth plate chondrocytes. IP injection of the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin to mice with Sirt1 deletion partially neutralized such inhibitory effects of Sirt1 ablation on longitudinal bone growth, indicating the causative link between SIRT1 and mTORC1 signaling in the growth plate. Mechanistically, SIRT1 interacted with tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (TSC2), a key upstream negative regulator of mTORC1 signaling, and loss of Sirt1 inhibited TSC2 expression, resulting in hyperactivated mTORC1 signaling in chondrocytes. In conclusion, our findings suggest that loss of Sirt1 may trigger mTORC1 signaling in growth plate chondrocytes and contributes to growth retardation, thus indicating that SIRT1 is an important regulator during chondrogenesis and providing new insights into the clinical potential of SIRT1 in bone development.

Sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) stimulates growth-plate chondrogenesis by attenuating the PERK-eIF-2α-CHOP pathway in the unfolded protein response.

The NAD+-dependent deacetylase sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) has emerged as an important regulator of chondrogenesis and cartilage homeostasis, processes that are important for physiological skeletal growth and that are dysregulated in osteoarthritis. However, the functional role and underlying mechanism by which SIRT1 regulates chondrogenesis remain unclear. Using cultured rat metatarsal bones and chondrocytes isolated from rat metatarsal rudiments, here we studied the effects of the SIRT1 inhibitor EX527 or of SIRT1 siRNA on chondrocyte proliferation, hypertrophy, and apoptosis. We show that EX527 or SIRT1 siRNA inhibits chondrocyte proliferation and hypertrophy and induces apoptosis. We also observed that SIRT1 inhibition mainly induces the PERK-eIF-2α-CHOP axis of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response in growth-plate chondrocytes. Of note, EX527- or SIRT1 siRNA-mediated inhibition of metatarsal growth and growth-plate chondrogenesis were partly neutralized by phenylbutyric acid, a chemical chaperone that attenuates ER stress. Moreover, EX527-mediated impairment of chondrocyte function (i.e. of chondrocyte proliferation, hypertrophy, and apoptosis) was partly reversed in CHOP-/- cells. We also present evidence that SIRT1 physically interacts with and deacetylates PERK. Collectively, our findings indicate that SIRT1 deacetylates PERK and attenuates the PERK-eIF-2α-CHOP axis of the unfolded protein response pathway and thereby promotes growth-plate chondrogenesis and longitudinal bone growth.

Cartilage-Specific Autophagy Deficiency Promotes ER Stress and Impairs Chondrogenesis in PERK-ATF4-CHOP-Dependent Manner.

Autophagy is activated during nutritionally depleted or hypoxic conditions to facilitate cell survival. Because growth plate is an avascular and hypoxic tissue, autophagy may have a crucial role during chondrogenesis; however, the functional role and underlying mechanism of autophagy in regulation of growth plate remains elusive. In this study, we generated TamCart Atg7-/- (Atg7cKO) mice to explore the role of autophagy during endochondral ossification. Atg7cKO mice exhibited growth retardation associated with reduced chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation, and increased chondrocyte apoptosis. Meanwhile, we observed that Atg7 ablation mainly induced the PERK-ATF4-CHOP axis of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response in growth plate chondrocytes. Although Atg7 ablation induced ER stress in growth plate chondrocytes, the addition of phenylbutyric acid (PBA), a chemical chaperone known to attenuate ER stress, partly neutralized such effects of Atg7 ablation on longitudinal bone growth, indicating the causative interaction between autophagy and ER stress in growth plate. Consistent with these findings in vivo, we also observed that Atg7 ablation in cultured chondrocytes resulted in defective autophagy, elevated ER stress, decreased chondrocytes proliferation, impaired expression of col10a1, MMP-13, and VEGFA for chondrocyte differentiation, and increased chondrocyte apoptosis, while such effects were partly nullified by reduction of ER stress with PBA. In addition, Atg7 ablation-mediated impaired chondrocyte function (chondrocyte proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis) was partly reversed in CHOP-/- cells, indicating the causative role of the PERK-ATF4-CHOP axis of the ER stress response in the action of autophagy deficiency in chondrocytes. In conclusion, our findings indicate that autophagy deficiency may trigger ER stress in growth plate chondrocytes and contribute to growth retardation, thus implicating autophagy as an important regulator during chondrogenesis and providing new insights into the clinical potential of autophagy in cartilage homeostasis. © 2017 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Clock Gene Bmal1 Modulates Human Cartilage Gene Expression by Crosstalk With Sirt1.

The critical regulation of the peripheral circadian gene implicated in osteoarthritis (OA) has been recently recognized; however, the causative role and clinical potential of the peripheral circadian rhythm attributable to such effects remain elusive. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the role of a circadian gene Bmal1 in human cartilage and pathophysiology of osteoarthritis. In our present study, the mRNA and protein levels of circadian rhythm genes, including nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidase (NAD(+)) and sirtuin 1 (Sirt1), in human knee articular cartilage were determined. In OA cartilage, the levels of both Bmal1 and NAD(+) decreased significantly, which resulted in the inhibition of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase activity and Sirt1 expression. Furthermore, the knockdown of Bmal1 was sufficient to decrease the level of NAD(+) and aggravate OA-like gene expression changes under the stimulation of IL-1ß. The overexpression of Bmal1 relieved the alteration induced by IL-1ß, which was consistent with the effect of the inhibition of Rev-Erbα (known as NR1D1, nuclear receptor subfamily 1, group D). On the other hand, the transfection of Sirt1 small interfering RNA not only resulted in a reduction of the protein expression of Bmal1 and a moderate increase of period 2 (per2) and Rev-Erbα but also further exacerbated the survival of cells and the expression of cartilage matrix-degrading enzymes induced by IL-1ß. Overexpression of Sirt1 restored the metabolic imbalance of chondrocytes caused by IL-1ß. These observations suggest that Bmal1 is a key clock gene to involve in cartilage homeostasis mediated through sirt1 and that manipulating circadian rhythm gene expression implicates an innovative strategy to develop novel therapeutic agents against cartilage diseases.