Search

Enkephalins, a group of small peptides with opiate-like activity, have been defined originally as neuropeptides. Recent reports showed, using in situ hybridization, that the enkephalin-encoding gene, proenkephalin A (pEnkA), is expressed in nondifferentiated cells of diverse mesodermal lineages. The transient expression of pEnkA in these tissues during organogenesis suggests that this gene is involved in processes such as differentiation and/or cell proliferation. In situ hybridization revealed that bone and cartilage are among the tissues that express pEnkA most actively during organogenesis. Here we show that pEnkA mRNA is abundant in normal calvaria-derived cells and in osteosarcoma-derived cell lines ROS 17/2.8 and ROS 25/1. In addition, pEnkA-derived peptides are synthesized and secreted by these cells, as revealed by specific RIA. pEnkA expression in ROS cells is decreased by osteogenin, an osteoinductive factor, and by the calcium-regulating hormone, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, whereas the osteoblastic phenotype marker, alkaline phosphatase, is increased by these factors. These results together with the inhibitory effects of pEnkA-derived peptides on alkaline phosphatase activity in ROS 17/2.8 cells suggest that pEnkA is involved in bone development and provide a model system for further analysis of pEnkA expression during this process.

A human collagenase inhibitor (CI) of Mr 28,500 has been extensively characterized in skin fibroblasts and identified in a variety of connective tissues. Because human alveolar macrophages synthesize and secrete both a collagenase and CI that are immunologically and functionally identical to their counterparts in fibroblasts, we studied the production of such proteins by an immature human cell line (HL60) that can be induced to differentiate along monocytic or granulocytic pathways. The cells failed to synthesize collagenase under any culture condition tested. However, upon exposure to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 or phorbol esters (PMA), both of which promote monocytic differentiation of HL60, these cells synthesized and released CI in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the extent of CI expression was paralleled by the acquisition by such cells of the monocytic marker 63D3, indicating that inhibitor production and differentiation are closely correlated. This CI was immunologically and functionally identical to that produced by human macrophages and human skin fibroblasts. The quantity of CI synthesized by PMA-stimulated cells was 3- to 5-fold greater than produced by human alveolar macrophages, approximately equal to 1 microgram per 10(6) cells per day. In contrast, undifferentiated HL60 cells produced little or no detectable CI (less than or equal to 10-20 ng per 10(6) cells per day). Interestingly, when HL60 cells were stimulated to undergo granulocytic differentiation by dimethyl sulfoxide or retinoic acid, they also produced the "monocytic" CI.

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] stimulates bone resorption in man and other vertebrates, in part, by increasing the number of osteoclasts, the principal resorbing cells of bone. Because osteoclasts are very likely derived from a member(s) of the mononuclear phagocyte family, we determined if 1,25(OH)2D3 promotes maturation of these cells by studying its effects on the human promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60. Of the vitamin D3 metabolites tested, only 1,25(OH)2D3, at 10(-10) to 10(-7) M, induces the differentiation of HL60 into mono- and multinucleated macrophage-like cells. Phenotypic change is evident within 24 hr and reaches a plateau between 72 and 96 hr of incubation. The changes are metabolite-specific and include (i) adherence to substrate, (ii) acquisition of the morphological features of mature monocytes, (iii) a 4- to 6-fold enhancement in lysozyme synthesis and secretion, (iv) increase in the fraction of alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase-positive cells from approximately 2% to 100% of the population, and (v) the acquisition of several monocyte-associated cell surface antigens. More importantly, treated HL-60 cells acquire the capacity to bind and degrade bone matrix, two of the essential, functional characteristics of osteoclasts and related bone-resorbing cells. These results, considered together with the reported action of 1,25(OH)2D3 on nontransformed mononuclear cells, are consistent with the view that vitamin D3 enhances bone resorption and osteoclastogenesis in vivo by promoting the differentiation of precursor cells.