Genetic loci that control the loss and regain of trabecular bone during unloading and reambulation

Genetic variability affects the skeletal response to immobilization in founder strains of the diversity outbred mouse population

Mechanical unloading decreases bone volume and strength. In humans and mice, bone mineral density is highly heritable, and in mice the response to changes in loading varies with genetic background. Thus, genetic variability may affect the response of bone to unloading. As a first step to identify genes involved in bones' response to unloading, we evaluated the effects of unloading in eight inbred mouse strains: C57BL/6J, PWK/PhJ, WSB/EiJ, A/J, 129S1/SvImJ, NOD/ShiLtJ, NZO/HlLtJ, and CAST/EiJ. C57BL/6J and NOD/ShiLtJ mice had the greatest unloading-induced loss of diaphyseal cortical bone volume and strength. NZO/HlLtJ mice had the greatest metaphyseal trabecular bone loss, and C57BL/6J, WSB/EiJ, NOD/ShiLtJ, and CAST/EiJ mice had the greatest epiphyseal trabecular bone loss. Bone loss in the epiphyses displayed the highest heritability. With immobilization, mineral:matrix was reduced, and carbonate:phosphate and crystallinity were increased. A/J mice displayed the greatest unloading-induced loss of mineral:matrix. Changes in gene expression in response to unloading were greatest in NOD/ShiLtJ and CAST/EiJ mice. The most upregulated genes in response to unloading were associated with increased collagen synthesis and extracellular matrix formation. Our results demonstrate a strong differential response to unloading as a function of strain. Diversity outbred (DO) mice are a high-resolution mapping population derived from these eight inbred founder strains. These results suggest DO mice will be highly suited for examining the genetic basis of the skeletal response to unloading.

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Mouse strain affects bone's response to immobilization.

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Magnitude of bone loss from immobilization is heritable.

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Bone transcriptomic response to immobilization is influenced by genetic variation.

Low magnitude high frequency vibrations expedite the osteogenesis of bone marrow stem cells on paper based 3D scaffolds

Anabolic effects of low magnitude high frequency (LMHF) vibrations on bone tissue were consistently shown in the literature in vivo, however in vitro efforts to elucidate underlying mechanisms are generally limited to 2D cell culture studies. Three dimensional cell culture platforms better mimic the natural microenvironment and biological processes usually differ in 3D compared to 2D culture. In this study, we used laboratory grade filter paper as a scaffold material for studying the effects of LHMF vibrations on osteogenesis of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in a 3D system. LMHF vibrations were applied 15 min/day at 0.1 g acceleration and 90 Hz frequency for 21 days to residing cells under quiescent and osteogenic conditions. mRNA expression analysis was performed for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OCN) genes, Alizarin red S staining was performed for mineral nodule formation and infrared spectroscopy was performed for determination of extracellular matrix composition. The highest osteocalcin expression, mineral nodule formation and the phosphate bands arising from the inorganic phase was observed for the cells incubated in osteogenic induction medium with vibration. Our results showed that filter paper can be used as a model scaffold system for studying the effects of mechanical loads on cells, and LMHF vibrations induced the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells.

Stem Cell Culture Under Simulated Microgravity

Challenging environment of space causes several pivotal alterations in living systems, especially due to microgravity. The possibility of simulating microgravity by ground-based systems provides research opportunities that may lead to the understanding of in vitro biological effects of microgravity by eliminating the challenges inherent to spaceflight experiments. Stem cells are one of the most prominent cell types, due to their self-renewal and differentiation capabilities. Research on stem cells under simulated microgravity has generated many important findings, enlightening the impact of microgravity on molecular and cellular processes of stem cells with varying potencies. Simulation techniques including clinostat, random positioning machine, rotating wall vessel and magnetic levitation-based systems have improved our knowledge on the effects of microgravity on morphology, migration, proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. Clarification of the mechanisms underlying such changes offers exciting potential for various applications such as identification of putative therapeutic targets to modulate stem cell function and stem cell based regenerative medicine.

Trabecular variation in the first metacarpal and manipulation in hominids

OBJECTIVES

The dexterity of fossil hominins is often inferred by assessing the comparative manual anatomy and behaviors of extant hominids, with a focus on the thumb. The aim of this study is to test whether trabecular structure is consistent with what is currently known about habitually loaded thumb postures across extant hominids.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We analyze first metacarpal (Mc1) subarticular trabecular architecture in humans (Homo sapiens, n = 10), bonobos (Pan paniscus, n = 10), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes, n = 11), as well as for the first time, gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla, n = 10) and orangutans (Pongo sp., n = 1, Pongo abelii, n = 3 and Pongo pygmaeus, n = 5). Using a combination of subarticular and whole-epiphysis approaches, we test for significant differences in relative trabecular bone volume (RBV/TV) and degree of anisotropy (DA) between species.

RESULTS

Humans have significantly greater RBV/TV on the radiopalmar aspects of both the proximal and distal Mc1 subarticular surfaces and greater DA throughout the Mc1 head than other hominids. Nonhuman great apes have greatest RBV/TV on the ulnar aspect of the Mc1 head and the palmar aspect of the Mc1 base. Gorillas possessed significantly lower DA in the Mc1 head than any other taxon in our sample.

DISCUSSION

These results are consistent with abduction of the thumb during forceful "pad-to-pad" precision grips in humans and, in nonhuman great apes, a habitually adducted thumb that is typically used in precision and power grips. This comparative context will help infer habitual manipulative and locomotor grips in fossil hominins.

Metacarpal trabecular bone varies with distinct hand-positions used in hominid locomotion

Trabecular bone remodels during life in response to loading and thus should, at least in part, reflect potential variation in the magnitude, frequency and direction of joint loading across different hominid species. Here we analyse the trabecular structure across all non-pollical metacarpal distal heads (Mc2-5) in extant great apes, expanding on previous volume of interest and whole-epiphysis analyses that have largely focused on only the first or third metacarpal. Specifically, we employ both a univariate statistical mapping and a multivariate approach to test for both inter-ray and interspecific differences in relative trabecular bone volume fraction (RBV/TV) and degree of anisotropy (DA) in Mc2-5 subchondral trabecular bone. Results demonstrate that whereas DA values only separate Pongo from African apes (Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus, Gorilla gorilla), RBV/TV distribution varies with the predicted loading of the metacarpophalangeal (McP) joints during locomotor behaviours in each species. Gorilla exhibits a relatively dorsal distribution of RBV/TV consistent with habitual hyper-extension of the McP joints during knuckle-walking, whereas Pongo has a palmar distribution consistent with flexed McP joints used to grasp arboreal substrates. Both Pan species possess a disto-dorsal distribution of RBV/TV, compatible with multiple hand postures associated with a more varied locomotor regime. Further inter-ray comparisons reveal RBV/TV patterns consistent with varied knuckle-walking postures in Pan species in contrast to higher RBV/TV values toward the midline of the hand in Mc2 and Mc5 of Gorilla, consistent with habitual palm-back knuckle-walking. These patterns of trabecular bone distribution and structure reflect different behavioural signals that could be useful for determining the behaviours of fossil hominins.

Skeletal stiffening in an amphibious fish out of water is a response to increased body weight

Terrestrial animals must support their bodies against gravity, while aquatic animals are effectively weightless because of buoyant support from water. Given this evolutionary history of minimal gravitational loading of fishes in water, it has been hypothesized that weight-responsive musculoskeletal systems evolved during the tetrapod invasion of land and are thus absent in fishes. Amphibious fishes, however, experience increased effective weight when out of water - are these fishes responsive to gravitational loading? Contrary to the tetrapod-origin hypothesis, we found that terrestrial acclimation reversibly increased gill arch stiffness (∼60% increase) in the amphibious fish Kryptolebias marmoratus when loaded normally by gravity, but not under simulated microgravity. Quantitative proteomics analysis revealed that this change in mechanical properties occurred via increased abundance of proteins responsible for bone mineralization in other fishes as well as in tetrapods. Type X collagen, associated with endochondral bone growth, increased in abundance almost ninefold after terrestrial acclimation. Collagen isoforms known to promote extracellular matrix cross-linking and cause tissue stiffening, such as types IX and XII collagen, also increased in abundance. Finally, more densely packed collagen fibrils in both gill arches and filaments were observed microscopically in terrestrially acclimated fish. Our results demonstrate that the mechanical properties of the fish musculoskeletal system can be fine-tuned in response to changes in effective body weight using biochemical pathways similar to those in mammals, suggesting that weight sensing is an ancestral vertebrate trait rather than a tetrapod innovation.

Differences in bone structure and unloading-induced bone loss between C57BL/6N and C57BL/6J mice

The C57BL/6 mouse, the most frequently utilized animal model in biomedical research, is in use as several substrains, all of which differ by a small array of genomic differences. Two of these substrains, C57BL/6J (B6J) and C57BL/6N (B6N), are commonly used but it is unclear how phenotypically similar or different they are. Here, we tested whether adolescent B6N mice have a bone phenotype and respond to the loss of weightbearing differently than B6J. At 9 weeks of age, normally ambulating B6N had lower trabecular bone volume fraction but greater bone formation rates and osteoblast surfaces than corresponding B6J. At 11 weeks of age, differences in trabecular indices persisted between the substrains but differences in cellular activity had ceased. Cortical bone indices were largely similar between the two substrains. Hindlimb unloading (HLU) induced similar degeneration of trabecular architecture and cellular activity in both substrains when comparing 11-week-old HLU mice to 11-week-old controls. However, unloaded B6N mice had smaller cortices than B6J. When comparing HLU to 9 weeks baseline control mice, deterioration in trabecular separation, osteoblast indices, and endocortical variables was significantly greater in B6N than B6J. These data indicate specific developmental differences in bone formation and morphology between B6N and B6J mice, giving rise to a differential response to mechanical unloading that may be modulated, in part, by the genes Herc2, Myo18b, and Acan. Our results emphasize that these substrains cannot be used interchangeably at least for investigations in which the phenotypic makeup and its response to extraneous stimuli are of interest.

Trabecular and Cortical Bone of Growing C3H Mice Is Highly Responsive to the Removal of Weightbearing

Genetic make-up strongly influences the skeleton’s susceptibility to the loss of weight bearing with some inbred mouse strains experiencing great amounts of bone loss while others lose bone at much smaller rates. At young adulthood, female inbred C3H/HeJ (C3H) mice are largely resistant to catabolic pressure induced by unloading. Here, we tested whether the depressed responsivity to unloading is inherent to the C3H genetic make-up or whether a younger age facilitates a robust skeletal response to unloading. Nine-week-old, skeletally immature, female C3H mice were subjected to 3wk of hindlimb unloading (HLU, n = 12) or served as normal baseline controls (BC, n = 10) or age-matched controls (AC, n = 12). In all mice, cortical and trabecular architecture of the femur, as well as levels of bone formation and resorption, were assessed with μCT, histomorphometry, and histology. Changes in bone marrow progenitor cell populations were determined with flow cytometry. Following 21d of unloading, HLU mice had 52% less trabecular bone in the distal femur than normal age-matched controls. Reflecting a loss of trabecular tissue compared to baseline controls, trabecular bone formation rates (BFR/BS) in HLU mice were 40% lower than in age-matched controls. Surfaces undergoing osteoclastic resorption were not significantly different between groups. In the mid-diaphysis, HLU inhibited cortical bone growth leading to 14% less bone area compared to age-matched controls. Compared to AC, BFR/BS of HLU mice were 53% lower at the endo-cortical surface and 49% lower at the periosteal surface of the mid-diaphysis. The enriched osteoprogenitor cell population (OPC) comprised 2% of the bone marrow stem cells in HLU mice, significantly different from 3% OPC in the AC group. These data show that bone tissue in actively growing C3H mice is lost rapidly, or fails to grow, during the removal of functional weight bearing—in contrast to the insignificant response previously demonstrated in female young adult C3H mice. Thus, the attributed low sensitivity of the C3H mouse strain to the loss of mechanical signals is not apparent at a young age and this trait therefore does not reflect a genetic regulation throughout the life span of this strain. These results highlight the significance of age in modulating the contribution of genetics in orchestrating bone’s response to unloading and that the skeletal unresponsiveness of young adult C3H mice to the loss of weight bearing is not genetically hard-wired.

Modulation of unloading-induced bone loss in mice with altered ERK signaling

Genetic variations mediate skeletal responsiveness to mechanical unloading, with individual space travelers exhibiting large variations in the extent of bone loss. We previously identified genomic regions harboring several hundred genes that can modulate the magnitude of skeletal adaptation to mechanical unloading. Here, bioinformatic filters aided in shortlisting 30 genes with bone-related and mechanoregulatory roles. The genes CD44, FGF2, NOD2, and Fas, all associated with ERK signaling, were then functionally tested in hindlimb-unloaded (HLU) knockout (KO) mice. Compared to their respective normally ambulating wildtype (WT) controls, all KO strains, except Fas mice, had lower trabecular bone volume, bone volume fraction, and/or trabecular number. For cortical bone and compared to ambulatory WT mice, CD44(-/-) had impaired properties while FGF2(-/-) showed enhanced indices. NOD2(-/-) and Fas(-/-) did not have a cortical phenotype. In all KO and WT groups, HLU resulted in impaired trabecular and cortical indices, primarily due to trabecular tissue loss and mitigation of cortical bone growth. The difference in trabecular separation between HLU and ambulatory controls was significantly greater in CD44(-/-) and NOD2(-/-) mice than in WT mice. In cortical bone, differences in cortical thickness, total pore volume, and cortical porosity between HLU and controls were aggravated in CD44(-/-) mice. In contrast, deletion of NOD2 and Fas genes mitigated the differences in Po.V between HLU and control mice. Together, we narrowed a previous list of QTL-derived candidate genes from over 300 to 30, and showed that CD44, NOD2, and Fas have distinct functions in regulating changes in trabecular and cortical bone indices during unloading.

Bone shaft bending strength index is unaffected by exercise and unloading in mice

Anthropologists frequently use the shaft bending strength index to infer the physical activity levels of humans living in the past from their lower limb bone remains. This index is typically calculated as the ratio of bone shaft second moments of area about orthogonal principal axes (i.e. I(max)/I(min)). Individuals with high I(max)/I(min) values are inferred to have been very active, whereas individuals with low values are inferred to have been more sedentary. However, there is little direct evidence that activity has a causal and predictable effect on the shaft bending strength index. Here, we report the results of two experiments that were designed to test the model within which anthropologists commonly interpret the shaft bending strength index. In the first experiment, mice were treated daily with treadmill exercise for 1 month to simulate a high-activity lifestyle. In the second experiment, in an attempt to simulate a low-activity lifestyle, functional weight-bearing was removed from the hindlimbs of mice for 1 month. Femoral mid-shaft structure was determined with μCT. We found that while exercise resulted in significant enhancement of I(max) and I(min) compared with controls, it failed to significantly increase the I(max)/I(min)index. Similarly, stunted bone growth caused by unloading resulted in significantly diminished I(max) and I(min) compared with controls, but low activity did not lead to significantly decreased I(max)/I(min)compared with normal activity. Together, these results suggest that caution is required when the bone shaft bending strength index is used to reconstruct the activity levels of past humans.

Trabecular bone recovers from mechanical unloading primarily by restoring its mechanical function rather than its morphology

Upon returning to normal ambulatory activities, the recovery of trabecular bone lost during unloading is limited. Here, using a mouse population that displayed a large range of skeletal susceptibility to unloading and reambulation, we tested the impact of changes in trabecular bone morphology during unloading and reambulation on its simulated mechanical properties. Female adult mice from a double cross of BALB/cByJ and C3H/HeJ strains (n=352) underwent 3wk of hindlimb unloading followed by 3wk of reambulation. Normally ambulating mice served as controls (n=30). As quantified longitudinally by in vivo μCT, unloading led to an average loss of 43% of trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV) in the distal femur. Finite element models of the μCT tomographies showed that deterioration of the trabecular structure raised trabecular peak Von-Mises (PVM) stresses on average by 27%, indicating a significant increase in the risk of mechanical failure compared to baseline. Further, skewness of the Von-Mises stress distributions (SVM) increased by 104% with unloading, indicating that the trabecular structure became inefficient in resisting the applied load. During reambulation, bone of experimental mice recovered on average only 10% of its lost BV/TV. Even though the addition of trabecular tissue was small during reambulation, PVM and SVM as indicators of risk of mechanical failure decreased by 56% and 57%, respectively. Large individual differences in the response of trabecular bone, together with a large sample size, facilitated stratification of experimental mice based on the level of recovery. As a fraction of all mice, 66% of the population showed some degree of recovery in BV/TV while in 89% and 87% of all mice, PVM and SVM decreased during reambulation, respectively. At the end of the reambulation phase, only 8% of the population recovered half of the unloading induced losses in BV/TV while 50% and 49% of the population recovered half of the unloading induced deterioration in PVM and SVM, respectively. The association between morphological and mechanical variables was strong at baseline but progressively decreased during the unloading and reambulation cycles. The preferential recovery of trabecular micromechanical properties over bone volume fraction emphasizes that mechanical demand during reambulation does not, at least initially, seek to restore bone's morphology but its mechanical integrity.

Low level irradiation in mice can lead to enhanced trabecular bone morphology

Charged particle radiation such as iron ions and their secondary fragmentation products are of particular concern to the skeleton due to their high charge and energy deposition. However, little is known about the long-term effects of these particles on trabecular and cortical bone morphology when applied at relatively low levels. We hypothesized that even a 4.4 cGy dose of a complex secondary iron ion radiation field will compromise skeletal quantity and architecture in adult mice. One year after radiation exposure and compared to age-matched controls, 4.4 cGy irradiated mice had 51 % more trabecular bone, 56 % greater trabecular bone volume fraction, 16 % greater trabecular number, and 17 % less trabecular separation in the distal metaphysis of the femur. Similar to the metaphysis, trabecular bone of the distal femoral epiphysis in 4.4 cGy mice had 33 % more trabecular bone, 31 % greater trabecular bone volume fraction, and a 33 % smaller structural model index. Cortical bone morphology, whole bone mechanical properties, and lower leg muscle mass were unaffected. When compared to two additional groups, irradiated at either 8.9 or 17.8 cGy, a (negative) dose response relationship was observed for trabecular bone in the metaphysis but not in the epiphysis. In contrast to our original hypothesis, these data indicated that a secondary field of low-level, high-linear energy transfer iron radiation may cause long-term augmentation, rather than deterioration, of trabecular bone in the femoral metaphysis and epiphysis of mice.

Quantitative trait loci that modulate trabecular bone's risk of failure during unloading and reloading

Genetic makeup of an individual is a strong determinant of the morphologic and mechanical properties of bone. Here, in an effort to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for changes in the simulated mechanical parameters of trabecular bone during altered mechanical demand, we subjected 352 second generation female adult (16 weeks old) BALBxC3H mice to 3 weeks of hindlimb unloading followed by 3 weeks of reambulation. Longitudinal in vivo microcomputed tomography (μCT) scans tracked trabecular changes in the distal femur. Tomographies were directly translated into finite element (FE) models and subjected to a uniaxial compression test. Apparent trabecular stiffness and components of the Von Mises (VM) stress distributions were computed for the distal metaphysis and associated with QTLs. At baseline, five QTLs explained 20% of the variation in trabecular peak stresses across the mouse population. During unloading, three QTLs accounted for 14% of the variability in peak stresses. During reambulation, one QTL accounted for 5% of the variability in peak stresses. QTLs were also identified for mechanically induced changes in stiffness, median stress values and skewness of stress distributions. There was little overlap between QTLs identified for baseline and QTLs for longitudinal changes in mechanical properties, suggesting that distinct genes may be responsible for the mechanical response of trabecular bone. Unloading related QTLs were also different from reambulation related QTLs. Further, QTLs identified here for mechanical properties differed from previously identified QTLs for trabecular morphology, perhaps revealing novel gene targets for reducing fracture risk in individuals exposed to unloading and for maximizing the recovery of trabecular bone's mechanical properties during reambulation.