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Abstract Background A reciprocal relationship between bone and fat development in osteoporosis is clinically well established. Some of the key molecular regulators involved in this tissue replacement process have been identified. The detailed mechanisms governing the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) – the key cells involved – are however only now beginning to emerge. In an attempt to address the regulation of the adipocyte/osteoblast balance at the level of gene transcription in a comprehensive and unbiased manner, we performed a large-scale gene expression profiling study using a unique cellular model, human multipotent adipose tissue-derived stem cells (hMADS). Results The analysis of 1606 genes that were found to be differentially expressed between adipogenesis and osteoblastogenesis revealed gene repression to be most prevalent prior to commitment in both lineages. Computational analyses suggested that this gene repression is mediated by miRNAs. The transcriptional activation of lineage-specific molecular processes in both cases occurred predominantly after commitment. Analyses of the gene expression data and promoter sequences produced a set of 65 genes that are candidates for genes involved in the process of adipocyte/osteoblast commitment. Four of these genes were studied in more detail: LXRα and phospholipid transfer protein (PLTP) for adipogenesis, the nuclear receptor COUP-TF1 and one uncharacterized gene, TMEM135 for osteoblastogenesis. PLTP was secreted during both early and late time points of hMADS adipocyte differentiation. LXRα, COUP-TF1, and the transmembrane protein TMEM135 were studied in primary cultures of differentiating bone marrow stromal cells from healthy donors and were found to be transcriptionally activated in the corresponding lineages. Conclusion Our results reveal gene repression as a predominant early mechanism before final cell commitment. We were moreover able to identify 65 genes as candidates for genes controlling the adipocyte/osteoblast balance and to further evaluate four of these. Additional studies will explore the precise role of these candidate genes in regulating the adipogenesis/osteoblastogenesis switch.

Inflammasomes are protein complexes that mediate innate immune responses whose dysregulation has been linked to a spectrum of acute and chronic human conditions, which dictates therapeutic development that is aligned with disease variability. We designed a scalable, physiologic high-content imaging assay in human PBMCs that we analyzed using a combination of machine-learning and cell biology methods. This resulted in a set of biologically interpretable readouts that can resolve a spectrum of cellular states associated with inflammasome activation and inhibition. These methods were applied to a phenotypic screen that surfaced mechanistically distinct inflammasome inhibitors from an annotated 12,000 compound library. A set of over 100 inhibitors, including an array of Raf-pathway inhibitors, were validated in downstream functional assays. This approach demonstrates how complementary machine learning-based methods can be used to generate profiles of cellular states associated with different stages of complex biological pathways and yield compound and target discovery., Competing Interests: All authors were employees of Spring Discovery at the time of this study and have an equity interest in Spring Discovery., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Background: Chronic low back pain due to disc degeneration represents a major social and economic burden worldwide. The current standard of care is limited to symptomatic relief and no current approved therapy promotes disc regeneration. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are easily accessible and well characterized. These MSCs are multipotent and exhibit great tissue regenerative potential including bone, cartilage, and fibrous tissue regeneration. The use of this cell-based biologic for treating protruding disc herniation and/or intervertebral disc degeneration is a promising therapeutic strategy, due to their known regenerative, immuno-modulatory and anti-inflammatory properties., Methods: Five patients diagnosed with degenerative disc disease received an intra-discal injection of autologous, hypoxic cultured, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (15.1-51.6 million cells) as part of a previous study. These patients were re-consented to participate in this study in order to assess long-term safety and feasibility of intra-discal injection of autologous, hypoxic cultured, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells 4-6 years post mesenchymal stem cell infusion. The follow-up study consisted of a physical examination, a low back MRI, and a quality of life questionnaire., Results: Patients' lower back MRI showed absence of neoplasms or abnormalities surrounding the treated region. Based on the physical examination and the quality of life questionnaire, no adverse events were reported due to the procedure or to the stem cell treatment 4-6 years post autologous, hypoxic cultured mesenchymal stem cell infusion. All patients self-reported overall improvement, as well as improvement in strength, post stem cell treatment, and four out of five patients reported improvement in mobility., Conclusion: This early human clinical data suggests the safety and feasibility of the clinical use of hypoxic cultured bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of lower back pain due to degenerative disc disorders and support further studies utilizing hypoxic cultured bone marrow-derived stem cells. The overall improvements reported are encouraging, but a larger double-blind, controlled, randomized clinical study with significant number of patients and implementation of validated endpoint measurements are next steps in order to demonstrate efficacy of this cell-based biologic.

The regenerative capacity of skeletal muscle declines with age. Previous studies suggest that this process can be reversed by exposure to young circulation; however, systemic age-specific factors responsible for this phenomenon are largely unknown. Here we report that oxytocin--a hormone best known for its role in lactation, parturition and social behaviours--is required for proper muscle tissue regeneration and homeostasis, and that plasma levels of oxytocin decline with age. Inhibition of oxytocin signalling in young animals reduces muscle regeneration, whereas systemic administration of oxytocin rapidly improves muscle regeneration by enhancing aged muscle stem cell activation/proliferation through activation of the MAPK/ERK signalling pathway. We further show that the genetic lack of oxytocin does not cause a developmental defect in muscle but instead leads to premature sarcopenia. Considering that oxytocin is an FDA-approved drug, this work reveals a potential novel and safe way to combat or prevent skeletal muscle ageing.

Asymmetry of cell fate is one fundamental property of stem cells, in which one daughter cell self-renews, whereas the other differentiates. Evidence of nonrandom template segregation (NRTS) of chromosomes during asymmetric cell divisions in phylogenetically divergent organisms, such as plants, fungi, and mammals, has already been shown. However, before this current work, asymmetric inheritance of chromatids has never been demonstrated in differentiating embryonic stem cells (ESCs), and its molecular mechanism has remained unknown. Our results unambiguously demonstrate NRTS in asymmetrically dividing, differentiating human and mouse ESCs. Moreover, we show that NRTS is dependent on DNA methylation and on Dnmt3 (DNA methyltransferase-3), indicating a molecular mechanism that regulates this phenomenon. Furthermore, our data support the hypothesis that retention of chromatids with the "old" template DNA preserves the epigenetic memory of cell fate, whereas localization of "new" DNA strands and de novo DNA methyltransferase to the lineage-destined daughter cell facilitates epigenetic adaptation to a new cell fate.

The performance of adult stem cells is crucial for tissue homeostasis but their regenerative capacity declines with age, leading to failure of multiple organs. In skeletal muscle this failure is manifested by the loss of functional tissue, the accumulation of fibrosis, and reduced satellite cell-mediated myogenesis in response to injury. While recent studies have shown that changes in the composition of the satellite cell niche are at least in part responsible for the impaired function observed with aging, little is known about the effects of aging on the intrinsic properties of satellite cells. For instance, their ability to repair DNA damage and the effects of a potential accumulation of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) on their regenerative performance remain unclear. This work demonstrates that old muscle stem cells display no significant accumulation of DNA DSBs when compared to those of young, as assayed after cell isolation and in tissue sections, either in uninjured muscle or at multiple time points after injury. Additionally, there is no significant difference in the expression of DNA DSB repair proteins or globally assayed DNA damage response genes, suggesting that not only DNA DSBs, but also other types of DNA damage, do not significantly mark aged muscle stem cells. Satellite cells from DNA DSB-repair-deficient SCID mice do have an unsurprisingly higher level of innate DNA DSBs and a weakened recovery from gamma-radiation-induced DNA damage. Interestingly, they are as myogenic in vitro and in vivo as satellite cells from young wild type mice, suggesting that the inefficiency in DNA DSB repair does not directly correlate with the ability to regenerate muscle after injury. Overall, our findings suggest that a DNA DSB-repair deficiency is unlikely to be a key factor in the decline in muscle regeneration observed upon aging.

Purpose: There is growing evidence that oxytocin, which regulates appetite, plays a role in bone remodelling and improves osteoporosis. We previously showed a significant decrease in circulating oxytocin levels in postmenopausal osteoporotic women compared to healthy controls. However, factors involved in the pathophysiology of osteoporosis, such as estrogens and leptin, are known to regulate oxytocin secretion. Herein, we evaluated the relationships between oxytocin and other hormonal factors known to regulate bone remodeling and body composition in postmenopausal osteoporotic women, compared to healthy controls., Methods: In 20 postmenopausal women with severe osteoporosis compared to 16 healthy controls, we measured serum levels of oxytocin, high sensitive estradiol, testosterone, FSH, LH, SHBG, TSH, osteocalcin, serum type I collagen carboxy-terminal telopeptide, leptin. Bone mineral density and body composition were also measured with DXA., Results: Osteoporotic women had significantly lower oxytocin, leptin and LH serum levels and higher CTX and SHBG; all other biological parameters were similar in both groups. Fat mass and lean mass were significantly decreased in osteoporotic women. Oxytocin serum levels were significantly correlated to bone mineral density but not to any other measured parameter, including leptin, estradiol and age. In a logistic regression analysis, osteoporosis remained significantly correlated to oxytocin, regardless of age., Conclusions: Low oxytocin serum levels appeared to be associated with severe osteoporosis, independently of other factors associated with osteoporosis or known to regulate oxytocin serum levels, such as estradiol or leptin, reinforcing the concept that oxytocin may be involved in the pathophysiology of postmenopausal osteoporosis., (Copyright © 2011 Société française de rhumatologie. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.)

It is well established now that adult humans possess active brown adipose tissue (BAT) which represents a potential pharmacological target to combat obesity and associated diseases. Moreover thermogenic brown-like adipocytes ("brite adipocytes") appear also in mouse white adipose tissue (WAT) upon β3-adrenergic stimulation. We had previously shown that human multipotent adipose-derived stem cells (hMADS) are able to differentiate into cells which exhibit the key properties of human white adipocytes, and then to convert into functional brown adipocytes upon PPARγ activation. In light of a wealth of data indicating that thermogenic adipocytes from BAT and WAT have a distinct cellular origin, we have characterized at the molecular level UCP1 positive hMADS adipocytes from both sexes as brite adipocytes. Conversion of white to brown hMADS adipocytes is dependent on PPARγ activation with rosiglitazone as the most potent agonist and is inhibited by a PPARγ antagonist. In contrast to mouse cellular models, hMADS cells conversion into brown adipocytes is weakly induced by BMP7 treatment and not modulated by activation of the Hedgehog pathway. So far no primary or clonal precursor cells of human brown adipocytes have been obtained that can be used as a tool to develop therapeutic drugs and to gain further insights into the molecular mechanisms of brown adipogenesis in humans. Thus hMADS cells represent a suitable human cell model to delineate the formation and/or the uncoupling capacity of brown/brite adipocytes that could help to dissipate caloric excess intake among individuals.

Objective: Growth of white adipose tissue takes place in normal development and in obesity. A pool of adipose progenitors is responsible for the formation of new adipocytes and for the potential of this tissue to expand in response to chronic energy overload. However, factors controlling self-renewal of human adipose progenitors are largely unknown. We investigated the expression profile and the role of activin A in this process., Research Design and Methods: Expression of INHBA/activin A was investigated in three types of human adipose progenitors. We then analyzed at the molecular level the function of activin A during human adipogenesis. We finally investigated the status of activin A in adipose tissues of lean and obese subjects and analyzed macrophage-induced regulation of its expression., Results: INHBA/activin A is expressed by adipose progenitors from various fat depots, and its expression dramatically decreases as progenitors differentiate into adipocytes. Activin A regulates the number of undifferentiated progenitors. Sustained activation or inhibition of the activin A pathway impairs or promotes, respectively, adipocyte differentiation via the C/EBPβ-LAP and Smad2 pathway in an autocrine/paracrine manner. Activin A is expressed at higher levels in adipose tissue of obese patients compared with the expression levels in lean subjects. Indeed, activin A levels in adipose progenitors are dramatically increased by factors secreted by macrophages derived from obese adipose tissue., Conclusions: Altogether, our data show that activin A plays a significant role in human adipogenesis. We propose a model in which macrophages that are located in adipose tissue regulate adipose progenitor self-renewal through activin A.

In contrast to the earlier contention, adult humans have been shown recently to possess active brown adipose tissue with a potential of being of metabolic significance. Up to now, brown fat precursor cells have not been available for human studies. We have shown previously that human multipotent adipose-derived stem (hMADS) cells exhibit a normal karyotype and high self-renewal ability; they are known to differentiate into cells that exhibit the key properties of human white adipocytes, that is, uncoupling protein two expression, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, lipolysis in response to beta-agonists and atrial natriuretic peptide, and release of adiponectin and leptin. Herein, we show that, upon chronic exposure to a specific PPARgamma but not to a PPARbeta/delta or a PPARalpha agonist, hMADS cell-derived white adipocytes are able to switch to a brown phenotype by expressing both uncoupling protein one (UCP1) and CIDEA mRNA. This switch is accompanied by an increase in oxygen consumption and uncoupling. The expression of UCP1 protein is associated to stimulation of respiration by beta-AR agonists, including beta3-AR agonist. Thus, hMADS cells represent an invaluable cell model to screen for drugs stimulating the formation and/or the uncoupling capacity of human brown adipocytes that could help to dissipate excess caloric intake of individuals.

Osteoporosis constitutes a major worldwide public health burden characterized by enhanced skeletal fragility. Bone metabolism is the combination of bone resorption by osteoclasts and bone formation by osteoblasts. Whereas increase in bone resorption is considered as the main contributor of bone loss that may lead to osteoporosis, this loss is accompanied by increased bone marrow adiposity. Osteoblasts and adipocytes share the same precursor cell and an inverse relationship exists between the two lineages. Therefore, identifying signaling pathways that stimulate mesenchymal stem cells osteogenesis at the expense of adipogenesis is of major importance for developing new therapeutic treatments. For this purpose, we identified by transcriptomic analysis the oxytocin receptor pathway as a potential regulator of the osteoblast/adipocyte balance of human multipotent adipose-derived stem (hMADS) cells. Both oxytocin (OT) and carbetocin (a stable OT analogue) negatively modulate adipogenesis while promoting osteogenesis in both hMADS cells and human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells. Consistent with these observations, ovariectomized (OVX) mice and rats, which become osteoporotic and exhibit disequilibrium of this balance, have significant decreased OT levels compared to sham-operated controls. Subcutaneous OT injection reverses bone loss in OVX mice and reduces marrow adiposity. Clinically, plasma OT levels are significantly lower in postmenopausal women developing osteoporosis than in their healthy counterparts. Taken together, these results suggest that plasma OT levels represent a novel diagnostic marker for osteoporosis and that OT administration holds promise as a potential therapy for this disease.

Cell-based therapies are used to treat bone defects. We recently described that human multipotent adipose-derived stem (hMADS) cells, which exhibit a normal karyotype, self renewal, and the maintenance of their differentiation properties, are able to differentiate into different lineages. Herein, we show that hMADS cells can differentiate into osteocyte-like cells. In the presence of a low amount of serum and EGF, hMADS cells express specific molecular markers, among which alkaline phosphatase, CBFA-1, osteocalcin, DMP1, PHEX, and podoplanin and develop functional gap-junctions. When loaded on a hardening injectable bone substitute (HIBS) biomaterial and injected subcutaneously into nude mice, hMADS cells develop mineralized woven bone 4 weeks after implantation. Thus hMADS cells represent a valuable tool for pharmacological and biological studies of osteoblast differentiation in vitro and bone development in vivo.

BTBD1 is a recently cloned BTB-domain-containing protein particularly expressed in skeletal muscle and interacting with DNA topoisomerase 1 (Topo1), a key enzyme of cell survival. We have previously demonstrated that stable overexpression of a N-terminal truncated BTBD1 inhibited ex vivo myogenesis but not adipogenesis of pluripotent C2C12 cells. Here, BTBD1 expression was studied in three models of cellular differentiation: myogenesis (C2C12 cells), adipogenesis (3T3-L1 cells) and osteogenesis (hMADS cells). BTBD1 mRNA was found to be upregulated during myogenesis. At the opposite, we have not observed BTBD1 upregulation in an altered myogenesis cellular model and we observed a downregulation of BTBD1 mRNA expression in adipogenesis. Interestingly, amounts of Topo1 protein, but not Topo1 mRNA, were found to be modulated at the opposite of BTBD1 mRNA. No variation of BTBD1 expression was measured during osteogenesis. Taken together, these results indicate that BTBD1 mRNA is specifically regulated during myogenic and adipogenic differentiation, in relation with Topo1 expression. Moreover, they corroborate observations made previously with truncated BTBD1 and show that BTBD1 is a key protein of balance between adipogenesis and myogenesis. Finally, a transcriptome analysis gave molecular clues to decipher BTBD1 role, with an emphasis on the involvement in ubiquitin/proteasome degradation pathway.

CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein beta (C/EBP beta) is expressed early during the adipocyte differentiation program and plays an important role in this process. In an attempt to identify novel proteins that interact with C/EBP beta, we performed a yeast two-hybrid screen with a preadipocyte cDNA library and identified a new co-regulator, delta-interacting protein A (DIPA). DIPA mRNA is expressed during adipocyte differentiation of clonal cell lines. DIPA interacts with C/EBP beta and -delta proteins in intact cells and inhibits their transcriptional activity but not that of C/EBP alpha. Stable overexpression of DIPA in preadipocytes partially inhibits adipocyte differentiation, whereas its gene silencing enhances this process. DIPA and C/EBP beta co-localize in the nucleus, and overexpression of DIPA in preadipocytes results in a partial inhibition of the mitotic clonal expansion which is critical for differentiation. Thus, DIPA is a novel partner of C/EBP beta that down-regulates early events of adipogenesis.

In this study multipotent adipose-derived stem cells isolated from human adipose tissue (hMADS cells) were shown to differentiate into adipose cells in serum-free, chemically defined medium. During the differentiation process, hMADS cells exhibited a gene expression pattern similar to that described for rodent clonal preadipocytes and human primary preadipocytes. Differentiated cells displayed the key features of human adipocytes, i.e., expression of specific molecular markers, lipolytic response to agonists of beta-adrenoreceptors (beta2-AR agonist > beta1-AR agonist >> beta3-AR agonist) and to the atrial natriuretic peptide, insulin-stimulated glucose transport, and secretion of leptin and adiponectin. hMADS cells were able to respond to drugs as inhibition of adipocyte differentiation was observed in the presence of prostaglandin F2alpha, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, and nordihydroguaiaretic acid, a natural polyhydroxyphenolic antioxidant. Thus, for the first time, human adipose cells with normal karyotype and indefinite life span have been established. They represent a novel and valuable tool for studies of fat tissue development and metabolism.

Adipocyte differentiation involves dramatic cell shape alterations that are accompanied by changes in the expression of cytoskeletal and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Aortic carboxypeptidase-like protein (ACLP) is a secreted protein associated with the extracellular matrix whose expression is induced during smooth muscle (SM) differentiation. We analyzed the expression of ACLP gene during adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-F442A, 3T3-L1, and Ob1771 preadipocytes. Our results show that ACLP mRNA and protein are expressed in growing cells and after commitment. Thereafter, their expression levels decrease, as opposed to that of aP2 and PPARgamma2. Consistent with these observations, ACLP mRNA is expressed in the stromal-vascular fraction of adipose tissue but not in the adipocyte fraction. Overexpression of ACLP in 3T3-F442A preadipocytes inhibits adipocyte differentiation at both morphological and molecular level. However, ACLP overexpression promotes transdifferentiation of preadipocytes into smooth muscle-like cells, which express specific markers such as SM22alpha, SM alpha-actin, SM-MHC, and caldesmon. These findings demonstrate that overexpression of a single extracellular matrix protein is sufficient to induce transdifferentiation and that ACLP may modulate the commitment of mesodermal cells into different lineages depending upon its pattern of expression.