Ali R. Nasiri

Regulation of articular chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation by indian hedgehog and parathyroid hormone–related protein in mice

OBJECTIVE Chondrocytes of the epiphyseal growth zone are regulated by the Indian hedgehog (IHH)-parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) axis. In weight-bearing joints, this growth zone comes to be subdivided by the secondary ossification center into distinct articular and growth cartilage structures. The purpose of this study was to explore the cells of origin, localization, regulation of expression, and putative functions of IHH and PTHrP in articular cartilage in the mouse. METHODS We assessed IHH and PTHrP expression in an allelic PTHrP-LacZ-knockin mouse and several versions of PTHrP-null mice. Selected joints were unloaded surgically to examine load-induction of PTHrP and IHH. RESULTS The embryonic growth zone appears to serve as the source of PTHrP-expressing proliferative chondrocytes that populate both the forming articular cartilage and growth plate structures. In articular cartilage, these cells take the form of articular chondrocytes in the midzone. In PTHrP-knockout mice, mineralizing chondrocytes encroach upon developing articular cartilage but appear to be prevented from mineralizing the joint space by IHH-driven surface chondrocyte proliferation. In growing and adult mice, PTHrP expression in articular chondrocytes is load-induced, and unloading is associated with rapid changes in PTHrP expression and articular chondrocyte differentiation. CONCLUSION We conclude that the IHH-PTHrP axis participates in the maintenance of articular cartilage. Dysregulation of this system might contribute to the pathogenesis of arthritis.

Insulin receptor Thr1160 phosphorylation mediates lipid-induced hepatic insulin resistance

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D), but whether NAFLD plays a causal role in the pathogenesis of T2D is uncertain. One proposed mechanism linking NAFLD to hepatic insulin resistance involves diacylglycerol-mediated (DAG-mediated) activation of protein kinase C-ε (PKCε) and the consequent inhibition of insulin receptor (INSR) kinase activity. However, the molecular mechanism underlying PKCε inhibition of INSR kinase activity is unknown. Here, we used mass spectrometry to identify the phosphorylation site Thr1160 as a PKCε substrate in the functionally critical INSR kinase activation loop. We hypothesized that Thr1160 phosphorylation impairs INSR kinase activity by destabilizing the active configuration of the INSR kinase, and our results confirmed this prediction by demonstrating severely impaired INSR kinase activity in phosphomimetic T1160E mutants. Conversely, the INSR T1160A mutant was not inhibited by PKCε in vitro. Furthermore, mice with a threonine-to-alanine mutation at the homologous residue Thr1150 (InsrT1150A mice) were protected from high fat diet-induced hepatic insulin resistance. InsrT1150A mice also displayed increased insulin signaling, suppression of hepatic glucose production, and increased hepatic glycogen synthesis compared with WT controls during hyperinsulinemic clamp studies. These data reveal a critical pathophysiological role for INSR Thr1160 phosphorylation and provide further mechanistic links between PKCε and INSR in mediating NAFLD-induced hepatic insulin resistance.

Genetic evidence of the regulatory role of parathyroid hormone–related protein in articular chondrocyte maintenance in an experimental mouse model

OBJECTIVE Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) regulates the rate of differentiation of growth chondrocytes and is also expressed in articular chondrocytes. This study tested the hypothesis that PTHrP might have a regulatory role in articular chondrocyte maintenance. METHODS Control sequences of growth differentiation factor 5 were used to delete PTHrP from articular chondrocytes in the mid-region of mouse articular cartilage. Mice with conditional deletion of PTHrP (knockout [KO]) and littermate control mice were evaluated for degenerative changes using both a time-course design and destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) technique. A total histologic score of degenerative changes was determined for the femoral and tibial articular surfaces (total maximum score of 60). RESULTS The time-course study revealed degenerative changes in only a minority of the KO mice. In the DMM model, male KO mice were highly susceptible to DMM-induced degenerative changes (mean ± SEM total histologic score 45 ± 2.7 in KO mice versus 23 ± 1.4 in controls; P < 0.0001 by Mann-Whitney U test), with virtually no overlap between groups. PTHrP normally functions in a feedback loop with Indian hedgehog (IHH), in which a reduction in one signaling partner induces a compensatory increase in the other. A number of phenotypic and functional markers were documented in KO mice to suggest that the IHH-PTHrP axis is capable of compensating in response to a partial Cre-driven PTHrP deletion, a finding that underscores the need to subject the mouse articular cartilage to a destabilizing challenge in order to elicit frankly degenerative findings. CONCLUSION PTHrP may regulate articular chondrocyte maintenance in mice.

PTHrP regulates the modeling of cortical bone surfaces at fibrous insertion sites during growth.

The sites that receive ligament and tendon insertions (entheses) on the cortical surfaces of long bones are poorly understood, particularly regarding modeling and regulation. Entheses are classified as either fibrocartilaginous or fibrous based on their structures. Fibrous entheses typically insert into the metaphysis or diaphysis of a long bone, bear a periosteal component, and are modeled during long‐bone growth. This modeling forms a root system by which the insertions attach to the cortical surface. In the case of the medial collateral ligament, modeling drives actual migration of the ligament along the cortical surface in order to accommodate linear growth, whereas in other sites modeling may excavate a deep cortical root system (eg, the teres major insertion) or a shallow root system with a large footprint (eg, the latissimus dorsi insertion). We report here that conditionally deleting parathyroid hormone‐related protein (PTHrP) in fibrous entheses via Scleraxis‐Cre targeting causes modeling to fail in these three iterations of osteoclast‐driven enthesis excavation or migration. These iterations appear to represent formes frustes of a common modeling strategy, presumably differing from each other as a consequence of differences in biomechanical control. In sites in which PTHrP is not induced, either physiologically or because of conditional deletion, modeling does not take place and fibrocartilage is induced. These findings represent the initial genetic evidence that PTHrP regulates periosteal/intramembranous bone cell activity on cortical bone surfaces and indicate that PTHrP serves as a load‐induced modeling tool in fibrous insertion sites during linear growth.

MARCH1 regulates insulin sensitivity by controlling cell surface insulin receptor levels.

Insulin resistance is a key driver of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and is characterized by defective insulin receptor (INSR) signalling. Although surface INSR downregulation is a well-established contributor to insulin resistance, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain obscure. Here we show that the E3 ubiquitin ligase MARCH1 impairs cellular insulin action by degrading cell surface INSR. Using a large-scale RNA interference screen, we identify MARCH1 as a negative regulator of INSR signalling. March1 loss-of-function enhances, and March1 overexpression impairs, hepatic insulin sensitivity in mice. MARCH1 ubiquitinates INSR to decrease cell surface INSR levels, but unlike other INSR ubiquitin ligases, MARCH1 acts in the basal state rather than after insulin stimulation. Thus, MARCH1 may help set the basal gain of insulin signalling. MARCH1 expression is increased in white adipose tissue of obese humans, suggesting that MARCH1 contributes to the pathophysiology of T2D and could be a new therapeutic target.

Periosteal PTHrP regulates cortical bone modeling during linear growth in mice.

The modeling of long bone surfaces during linear growth is a key developmental process, but its regulation is poorly understood. We report here that parathyroid hormone‐related peptide (PTHrP) expressed in the fibrous layer of the periosteum (PO) drives the osteoclastic (OC) resorption that models the metaphyseal–diaphyseal junction (MDJ) in the proximal tibia and fibula during linear growth. PTHrP was conditionally deleted (cKO) in the PO via Scleraxis gene targeting (Scx‐Cre). In the lateral tibia, cKO of PTHrP led to a failure of modeling, such that the normal concave MDJ was replaced by a mound‐like deformity. This was accompanied by a failure to induce receptor activator of NF‐kB ligand (RANKL) and a 75% reduction in OC number (P ≤ 0.001) on the cortical surface. The MDJ also displayed a curious threefold increase in endocortical osteoblast mineral apposition rate (P ≤ 0.001) and a thickened cortex, suggesting some form of coupling of endocortical bone formation to events on the PO surface. Because it fuses distally, the fibula is modeled only proximally and does so at an extraordinary rate, with an anteromedial cortex in CD‐1 mice that was so moth‐eaten that a clear PO surface could not be identified. The cKO fibula displayed a remarkable phenotype, with a misshapen club‐like metaphysis and an enlargement in the 3D size of the entire bone, manifest as a 40–45% increase in the PO circumference at the MDJ (P ≤ 0.001) as well as the mid‐diaphysis (P ≤ 0.001). These tibial and fibular phenotypes were reproduced in a Scx‐Cre‐driven RANKL cKO mouse. We conclude that PTHrP in the fibrous PO mediates the modeling of the MDJ of long bones during linear growth, and that in a highly susceptible system such as the fibula this surface modeling defines the size and shape of the entire bone.

Periosteal PTHrP Regulates Cortical Bone Remodeling During Fracture Healing

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is widely expressed in the fibrous outer layer of the periosteum (PO), and the PTH/PTHrP type I receptor (PTHR1) is expressed in the inner PO cambial layer. The cambial layer gives rise to the PO osteoblasts (OBs) and osteoclasts (OCs) that model/remodel the cortical bone surface during development as well as during fracture healing. PTHrP has been implicated in the regulation of PO modeling during development, but nothing is known as regards a role of PTHrP in this location during fracture healing. We propose that PTHrP in the fibrous layer of the PO may be a key regulatory factor in remodeling bone formation during fracture repair. We first assessed whether PTHrP expression in the fibrous PO is associated with PO osteoblast induction in the subjacent cambial PO using a tibial fracture model in PTHrP-lacZ mice. Our results revealed that both PTHrP expression and osteoblast induction in PO were induced 3 days post-fracture. We then investigated a potential functional role of PO PTHrP during fracture repair by performing tibial fracture surgery in 10-week-old CD1 control and PTHrP conditional knockout (PTHrP cKO) mice that lack PO PTHrP. We found that callus size and formation as well as woven bone mineralization in PTHrP cKO mice were impaired compared to that in CD1 mice. Concordant with these findings, functional enzyme staining revealed impaired OB formation and OC activity in the cKO mice. We conclude that deleting PO PTHrP impairs cartilaginous callus formation, maturation and ossification as well as remodeling during fracture healing. These data are the initial genetic evidence suggesting that PO PTHrP may induce osteoblastic activity and regulate fracture healing on the cortical bone surface.

Angptl8 antisense oligonucleotide improves adipose lipid metabolism and prevents diet-induced NAFLD and hepatic insulin resistance in rodents

Aims/hypothesisTargeting regulators of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase could enhance adipose lipid clearance, prevent ectopic lipid accumulation and consequently ameliorate insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Angiopoietin-like 8 (ANGPTL8) is an insulin-regulated lipoprotein lipase inhibitor strongly expressed in murine adipose tissue. However, Angptl8 knockout mice do not have improved insulin resistance. We hypothesised that pharmacological inhibition, using a second-generation antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) against Angptl8 in adult high-fat-fed rodents, would prevent ectopic lipid accumulation and insulin resistance by promoting adipose lipid uptake.MethodsANGPTL8 expression was assessed by quantitative PCR in omental adipose tissue of bariatric surgery patients. High-fat-fed Sprague Dawley rats and C57BL/6 mice were treated with ASO against Angptl8 and insulin sensitivity was assessed by hyperinsulinaemic–euglycaemic clamps in rats and glucose tolerance tests in mice. Factors mediating lipid-induced hepatic insulin resistance were assessed, including lipid content, protein kinase Cε (PKCε) activation and insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation. Rat adipose lipid uptake was assessed by mixed meal tolerance tests. Murine energy balance was assessed by indirect calorimetry.ResultsOmental fat ANGPTL8 mRNA expression is higher in obese individuals with fatty liver and insulin resistance compared with BMI-matched insulin-sensitive individuals. Angptl8 ASO prevented hepatic steatosis, PKCε activation and hepatic insulin resistance in high-fat-fed rats. Postprandial triacylglycerol uptake in white adipose tissue was increased in Angptl8 ASO-treated rats. Angptl8 ASO protected high-fat-fed mice from glucose intolerance. Although there was no change in net energy balance, Angptl8 ASO increased fat mass in high-fat-fed mice.Conclusions/interpretationDisinhibition of adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase is a novel therapeutic modality to enhance adipose lipid uptake and treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and insulin resistance. In line with this, adipose ANGPTL8 is a candidate therapeutic target for these conditions.

The remarkable migration of the medial collateral ligament

The developing cortical surfaces of long bones are sculpted and modeled by periosteal osteoclasts and osteoblasts. These surfaces also receive the insertions of tendons and ligaments, and these insertion sites too are modeled to form the root systems that anchor them into the cortical bone. The regulatory molecules that control modeling are poorly understood, but recent evidence suggests that parathyroid hormone‐related protein (PTHrP) participates in this process. PTHrP functions principally as a paracrine regulatory molecule, and is known to be induced by mechanical loading in a number of sites. The most curious example of developmental modeling of the cortex is the migration of insertion sites such as that of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) along the bone surface during long‐bone growth. We report here the mechanisms that mediate MCL migration using a combination of genetic, imaging and histological techniques. We describe a MCL migratory complex that comprises two components. The first is the MCL insertion site itself, which is a prototypical fibrous insertion site with coupled osteoclast and osteoblast activities, and its key feature is that it is anchored early in development, well before initiation of the long‐bone growth spurt. Above the insertion site the periosteum is excavated by osteoclasts to form a migratory tract; this is mediated by wholly uncoupled osteoclastic bone resorption and remains as an unmineralized canal on the cortical surface in the adult. Load‐induction of PTHrP appears to regulate the osteoclastic activity in both the insertion site and migratory tract.

Reduced intestinal lipid absorption and body weight-independent improvements in insulin sensitivity in high-fat diet-fed Park2 knockout mice

Mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with many human diseases and results from mismatch of damage and repair over the life of the organelle. PARK2 is a ubiquitin E3 ligase that regulates mitophagy, a repair mechanism that selectively degrades damaged mitochondria. Deletion of PARK2 in multiple in vivo models results in susceptibility to stress-induced mitochondrial and cellular dysfunction. Surprisingly, Park2 knockout (KO) mice are protected from nutritional stress and do not develop obesity, hepatic steatosis or insulin resistance when fed a high-fat diet (HFD). However, these phenomena are casually related and the physiological basis for this phenotype is unknown. We therefore undertook a series of acute HFD studies to more completely understand the physiology of Park2 KO during nutritional stress. We find that intestinal lipid absorption is impaired in Park2 KO mice as evidenced by increased fecal lipids and reduced plasma triglycerides after intragastric fat challenge. Park2 KO mice developed hepatic steatosis in response to intravenous lipid infusion as well as during incubation of primary hepatocytes with fatty acids, suggesting that hepatic protection from nutritional stress was secondary to changes in energy balance due to altered intestinal triglyceride absorption. Park2 KO mice showed reduced adiposity after 1-wk HFD, as well as improved hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity. These studies suggest that changes in intestinal lipid absorption may play a primary role in protection from nutritional stress in Park2 KO mice by preventing HFD-induced weight gain and highlight the need for tissue-specific models to address the role of PARK2 during metabolic stress.