ABSTRACT: Cyclic tensile strain enhances the expression of Indian hedgehog and progression of ossification of the human cervical posterior longitudinal ligament
Project description:The initiation and/or progression of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is associated with cyclic tensile strain, but the pathomechanism of OPLL remains unclear. Indian hedgehog (Ihh) and its related signaling are key factors in normal enchondral ossification. However, the relation of OPLL to Ihh is unclear. The purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of mechanical strain to OPLL and the relation of Ihh to OPLL. Cultured posterior longitudinal ligament cells were subjected to 24 hours of cyclic tensile strain and then analyzed by microarray.
Project description:The pathomechanisms of initiation and progression of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) are unclear. Indian hedgehog (Ihh) and related signaling molecules are key factors in normal enchondral ossification. The purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of mechanical strain to OPLL and the relationship of Ihh with OPLL. Sections of the posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL) were obtained from 49 patients with OPLL and from 7 patients without OPLL. Cultured PLL cells were subjected to 24?hours of cyclic tensile strain. To identify differentially expressed genes associated with cyclic tensile strain, microarray analysis was performed. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis identified upregulation of various genes, particularly of the Hedgehog signaling pathway; Ihh and related genes had increased expression compared with controls after 24-hour cyclic tensile strain. In immunoblotting analysis, Ihh, Runx2, Sox9, Gli2, Gli3, and smoothened (SMO) had significantly increased expression after 6- or 12-hour cyclic tensile strain. OPLL samples were strongly immunopositive for Ihh, Sox9, Runx2, Gli2, Gli3, and SMO in the ossification front of OPLL. These results suggest that cyclic tensile strain induces abnormal activation of Ihh and related signaling molecules, and this might be important in the ossification process in OPLL.
Project description:Ectopic endochondral ossification in the tendon/ligament is caused by repetitive mechanical overload or inflammation. Tendon stem/progenitor cells (TSPCs) contribute to tissue repair and lubrication by producing proteoglycan 4 (Prg4). However, the mechanisms of ectopic ossification and association of TSPCs are not yet known. Here, we investigated the characteristics of Prg4-positive (+) cells and identified that R-spondin 2 (RSPO2), a WNT activator, is specifically expressed in a distinct Prg4+ TSPC cluster. The Rspo2+ cluster was characterized as mostly undifferentiated, and RSPO2 overexpression suppressed ectopic ossification in a mouse Achilles tendon puncture model via chondrogenic differentiation suppression. RSPO2 expression levels in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament were lower than those in spondylosis patients, and RSPO2 protein suppressed chondrogenic differentiation of human ligament cells. RSPO2 was induced by inflammatory stimulation and mechanical loading via nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). Rspo2+ cells may contribute to tendon/ligament homeostasis by suppressing chondrogenic differentiation. Overall design: We compared yellow ligaments from cervical ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) and cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) patients.
Project description:Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is formed by heterogeneous ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament. The patho-mechanism of OPLL is still largely unknown. MicroRNAs are small nucleatides that function as regulators of gene expression in almost any biological process. However, few microRNAs are reported to have a role in the pathological process of OPLL. Therefore, we performed high-throughput microRNA sequencing and transcriptome sequencing of primary OPLL and PLL cells in order to decipher the interacting network of microRNAs in OPLL. MRNA and microRNA profiles were done using primary culture cells of human ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) tissue and normal posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL) tissue.
Project description:We found disease-specific proteins from serum proteomics of ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament, and made knockout mice. We discovered protein peculiar to a disease in serum of the ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), and, as a result of producing knockout mouse, we checked spinal ligament ossification and combination of diabetes and thought that it was a typical mouse and analyzed the sequence of the kidney organization. Overall design: Proteomics analysis carried out OPLL of the wild mouse that the ossification of the ligament was confirmed when glucose and urine glucose showed a mouse to the high value from a knockout
Project description:Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) of the spine is characterized by progressive ectopic bone formation in the spinal ligament. To identify the genes related to ectopic ossification of human spinal ligament affected by mechanical stress, analyses using cDNA microarray were carried out using cultured human spinal ligament cells that had been subjected to uniaxial cyclic stretching. cDNA microarrays revealed that ranges of distribution of both up- and down-regulated genes evoked by cyclic stretching were significantly wider in cells from than in non-OPLL cells. Keywords: mechanical-stress response Overall design: Cells were cultured in deformable silicon chamber which were exposed to cyclic stretching (120% extension ratio) for up to 9 hr. After cyclic stretching, total RNA was extracted from each cell monolayer. Target cDNAs transcribed from non-stretched control cells and stretched cells were labeled with Cy3 and Cy5, respectively, and then hybridized with an Agilent Human 1 cDNA Microarray. The microarrays were scanned in both the Cy3 and Cy5 channels with an Affymetrix 428 Array Scanner, and then analyzed using the ImaGene and GeneSight-Lite Software packages.
Project description:Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is formed by heterogeneous ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament. The patho-mechanism of OPLL is still largely unknown. Recently, disorders of metabolism are thought to be the center of many diseases such as OPLL. Advanced glycation end product (AGE) are accumulated in many extracellular matrixes such as ligament fibers, and it can functions as cellular signal through its receptor (RAGE), contributing to various events such as atherosclerosis or oxidative stress. However, its role in OPLL formation is not yet known. Therefore, we performed high-through-put RNA sequencing on primary posterior longitudinal ligament cells treated with different doses of AGEs (1µM, 5µM and negative control), with or without BMP2 (1µM). mRNA profiles of Primary human posterior longitudinal ligament cells stimulated with various stimuli (Control, 1µM AGE-BSA, 5µM AGE-BSA, 1µM AGE-BSA with BMP2, 5µM AGE-BSA with BMP2) were generated by deep sequencing on Ion Proton
Project description:OBJECTIVE: Factors impacting surgical options and outcomes in patients with cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) were explored. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 127 eligible cervical OPLL patients (61 males, 66 females) aged 41-70 years (mean 55.2 years) selected from 152 total OPLL patients treated from 2002 to 2006, with 5-10-year (mean 6.8 years) follow-up. Patients underwent anterior subtotal corpectomy with ossification ligament resection (anterior surgery, n = 68) or posterior cervical double-door laminoplasty (posterior surgery, n = 59). Radiographic assessments of cervical curvature, T2-weighted MRI (MRIT2) signal, and OPLL occupying ratio were correlated with surgical strategy before surgery and at 1, 5 weeks, and 5 years. RESULTS: Lordosis increased following anterior surgery, though kyphosis improved by 10.3 %. The canal stenosis occupying ratio was >50 %, and short-term improvement following anterior surgery was significantly higher than posterior surgery (P > 0.0001). Superior neurological function was observed in patients with unchanged versus high spinal MRIT2 signals (P = 0.0434). No significant differences were observed in short-term outcomes between anterior and posterior surgeries in high spinal MRIT2 signal patients, but anterior surgery produced significantly better long-term outcomes at 1 week (P = 0.7564) and 1 year (P = 0.0071). Complications occurred in five anterior and three posterior surgeries. CONCLUSION: Preoperative assessment of cervical curvature, MRIT2 signal, and occupying ratio can be used to guide clinical surgical approach selection to potentially produce better long-term outcomes in patients with OPLL.
Project description:Objectives: Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) presents as the development of heterotopic ossification in the posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine. The etiology of OPLL is genetically linked, as shown by its high prevalence in Asian populations. However, the molecular mechanism of the disease remains obscure. In this study, we explored the function and mechanism of OPLL-specific microRNAs. Methods: The expression levels of the ossification-related OPLL-specific miR-181 family were measured in normal or OPLL ligament tissues. The effect of miR-181a on the ossification of normal or pathogenic ligament cells was tested using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Western blot, alizarin red staining and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining. The candidate targets of miR-181 were screened using a dual luciferase reporter assay and functional analysis. The link between miR-181a and its target PBX1 was investigated using chromatin immunoprecipitation, followed by real-time PCR detection. Histological and immunohistochemical analysis as well as micro-CT scanning were used to evaluate the effects of miR-181 and its antagonist using both tip-toe-walking OPLL mice and in vivo bone formation assays. Results: Using bioinformatic analysis, we found that miR-181a-5p is predicted to play important roles in the development of OPLL. Overexpression of miR-181a-5p significantly increased the expression of ossification-related genes, staining level of alizarin red and ALP activity, while the inhibition of miR-181a-5p by treatment with an antagomir had the opposite effects. Functional analysis identified PBX1 as a direct target of miR-181a-5p, and we determined that PBX1 was responsible for miR-181a-5p's osteogenic phenotype. By chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, we found that miR-181a-5p controls ligament cell ossification by regulating PBX1-mediated modulation of histone methylation and acetylation levels in the promoter region of osteogenesis-related genes. Additionally, using an in vivo model, we confirmed that miR-181a-5p can substantially increase the bone formation ability of posterior ligament cells and cause increased osteophyte formation in the cervical spine of tip-toe-walking mice. Conclusions: Our data unveiled the mechanism by which the miR-181a-5p/PBX1 axis functions in the development of OPLL, and it revealed the therapeutic effects of the miR-181a-5p antagomir in preventing OPLL development both in vivo and in vitro. Our work is the first to demonstrate that microRNA perturbation could modulate the development of OPLL through epigenetic regulation.
Project description:Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the cervical spine (OPLL) is characterized by the replacement of ligament tissues with ectopic bone formation, and this result is strongly affected by genetic and local factors. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of rs2273073 (T/G) and rs235768 (A/T) of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) gene which are associated with OPLL have been reported in our previous report. In this study, we confirmed the connection in 18 case samples analysis of BMP2 gene in OPLL patients; additionally, it was also shown from the OPLL patients with ligament tissues that enchondral ossification and expression of BMP2 were significantly higher compared with the non-OPLL patients by histological examination, immunohistochemistry and Western blotting analysis. To investigate the underlying mechanism, we studied the effect of SNPs in cell model. The C3H10T1/2 cells with different BMP2 gene variants were constructed and then subjected to uniaxial cyclic stretch (0.5 Hz, 10% stretch). In the presence of mechanical stress, the expression of BMP2 protein in C3H10T1/2 cells transfected by BMP2 (rs2273073 (T/G)) and BMP2 (rs2273073 (T/G), rs235768 (A/T)) were significantly higher than the corresponding static groups (P<0.05). In conclusion, these results suggested that BMP2 gene variant of rs2273073 (T/G) could not only increase cell susceptibility to bone transformation similar to pre-OPLL change, but also increase the sensibility to mechanical stress which might play an important role during the progression of OPLL.