Cathepsin K preferentially solubilizes matured bone matrix

Cathepsin K promotes the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells through induction of SIAH1 ubiquitination and degradation

Seven in absentia homolog 1 (SIAH1) was reported to be downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and played an important role in HCC progression; however, the underlying reason remains unknown. Here, we found that Cathepsin K (CTSK), a protein potentially interacting with SIAH1, inhibits SIAH1 protein level. CTSK was highly expressed in HCC tissues. CTSK inhibition or downregulation suppressed HCC cell proliferation, whereas CTSK overexpression had the opposite effect; it promotes HCC cell proliferation by regulating the SIAH1/protein kinase B (AKT) pathway, wherein promotes SIAH1 ubiquitination. Neural precursor cells expressing developmentally downregulated 4 (NEDD4) was found to be a potential upstream ubiquitin ligase of SIAH1. Further, CTSK could mediate SIAH1 ubiquitination and degradation by increasing SIAH1 autoubiquitination and recruiting NEDD4 to ubiquitinate SIAH1. Finally, the roles of CTSK were confirmed in a xenograft mouse model. In conclusion, oncogenic CTSK was upregulated in human HCC tissues and accelerated HCC cell proliferation by downregulating SIAH1.

Cathepsin K degrades osteoprotegerin to promote osteoclastogenesis in vitro

Osteoblasts produce the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin, the inducer and the suppressor of osteoclast differentiation and activation. We previously proposed that the degradation of osteoprotegerin by lysine-specific gingipain of Porphyromonas gingivalis and neutrophil elastase is one of the mechanisms of bone resorption associated with infection and inflammation. In the present study, we found that cathepsin K (CTSK) also degraded osteoprotegerin in an acidic milieu and the buffer with a pH of 7.4. The 37 k fragment of osteoprotegerin produced by the reaction with CTSK was further degraded into low molecular weight fragments, including a 13 k fragment, depending on the reaction time. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the 37 k fragment matched that of the intact osteoprotegerin, indicating that CTSK preferentially hydrolyzes the death domain-like region of osteoprotegerin, not its RANKL-binding region. The 13 k fragment of osteoprotegerin was the C-terminal 13 k portion within the RANKL-binding region of the 37 k fragment. Finally, CTSK restored RANKL-dependent osteoclast differentiation that was suppressed by the addition of osteoprotegerin. Collectively, CTSK is a possible positive regulator of osteoclastogenesis.

The Development of Molecular Biology of Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is one of the major bone disorders that affects both women and men, and causes bone deterioration and bone strength. Bone remodeling maintains bone mass and mineral homeostasis through the balanced action of osteoblasts and osteoclasts, which are responsible for bone formation and bone resorption, respectively. The imbalance in bone remodeling is known to be the main cause of osteoporosis. The imbalance can be the result of the action of various molecules produced by one bone cell that acts on other bone cells and influence cell activity. The understanding of the effect of these molecules on bone can help identify new targets and therapeutics to prevent and treat bone disorders. In this article, we have focused on molecules that are produced by osteoblasts, osteocytes, and osteoclasts and their mechanism of action on these cells. We have also summarized the different pharmacological osteoporosis treatments that target different molecular aspects of these bone cells to minimize osteoporosis.

Structure-guided protein engineering of human cathepsin L for efficient collagenolytic activity

Engineering precise substrate specificity of proteases advances the potential to use them in biotechnological and therapeutic applications. Collagen degradation, a physiological process mediated by collagenases, is an integral part of extracellular matrix remodeling and when uncontrolled, implicated in different pathological conditions. Lysosomal cathepsin-K cleaves triple helical collagen fiber, whereas cathepsin-L cannot do so. In this study, we have imparted collagenolytic property to cathepsin-L, by systematically engineering proline-specificity and glycosaminoglycans (GAG)-binding surface in the protease. The proline-specific mutant shows high specificity for prolyl-peptidic substrate but is incapable of cleaving collagen. Engineering a GAG-binding surface on the proline-specific mutant enabled it to degrade type-I collagen in the presence of chondroitin-4-sulfate (C4-S). We also present the crystal structures of proline-specific (1.4 Å) and collagen-specific (1.8 Å) mutants. Finally docking studies with prolyl-peptidic substrate (Ala-Gly-Pro-Arg-Ala) at the active site and a C4-S molecule at the GAG-binding site enable us to identify key structural features responsible for collagenolytic activity of cysteine cathepsins.

Targeting cathepsin K diminishes prostate cancer establishment and growth in murine bone

BACKGROUND

The processes of prostate cancer (PCa) invasion and metastasis are facilitated by proteolytic cascade involving multiple proteases, such as matrix metalloproteinases, serine proteases and cysteine proteases including cathepsin K (CatK). CatK is predominantly secreted by osteoclasts and specifically degrades collagen I leading to bone destruction. PCa and breast cancer preferentially metastasize to the bone. Importantly, CatK expression level is greater in PCa bone metastatic sites compared to primary tumor and normal prostate tissues. However, the underlying mechanism of CatK during PCa metastases into the bone remains to be elucidated. We investigated the functional role of CatK during the PCa establishment and growth process in the murine bone.

METHODS

CatK mRNA expression was validated by RT-PCR, protein expression by immunoblotting in PCa LNCaP, C4-2B, and PC3 cells as well as in PCa tissues. Its protein production was measured using ELISA assay. The effect of both knockdowns via siRNA and CatK inhibitor was compared in regard to PCa cell invasion. We further studied the dose-dependent CatK inhibitor effect on conditioned media-induced bone resorption. In setting up an animal model, C4-2B cells were injected into the tibiae of SCID mice. The animals treated with either vehicle or CatK inhibitor for 8 weeks at the time of tumor cell injection (tumor establishment model; protocol I) or 4 weeks after tumor cell injection (tumor progression model; protocol II) were applied to histological and histomorphometric analyses.

RESULTS

We confirmed CatK expression in PCa LNCaP, C4-2B, and PC3 cells as well as in PCa tissues. Furthermore, we observed the inhibitory effects of a selective CatK inhibitor on PCa cell invasion. The CatK inhibitor dose-dependently inhibited PCa-conditioned media-induced bone resorption. Upon injection of C4-2B cells into the tibiae of SCID mice, the selective CatK inhibitor significantly prevented the tumor establishment in protocol I, and reduced the tumor growth in bone in protocol II. It also decreased serum PSA levels in both animal models. The inhibitory effects of the CatK inhibitor were enhanced in combination with zoledronic acid (ZA).

CONCLUSION

The selective CatK inhibitor may prevent the establishment and progression of PCa in bone, thus making it a novel therapeutic approach for advanced PCa.

[Research progress in the mechanism of protein factors in regulating bone remodeling]

Objective

To review the role and mechanism of protein factors in bone remodeling, and provides theoretical basis for further elucidating the pathogenesis and clinical treatment of bone-related diseases.

Methods

The relevant research results at home and abroad in recent years were extensively consulted, analyzed, and summarized.

Results

Bone remodeling is an important physiological process to maintain bone homeostasis. Protein, as an important stimulator in bone remodeling, regulates the balance between bone resorption and bone formation.

Conclusion

At present, the research on the mechanism of protein in bone remodeling is insufficient. Therefore, it is necessary to further study the specific time, process, and interaction network of protein in bone remodeling, and to confirm its mechanism in bone remodeling, so as to reveal and treat the pathogenesis of bone-related diseases.

Primum non nocere - The effects of sodium hypochlorite on dentin as used in endodontics

The medical literature is replete with the maxim 'primum non nocere', cautioning health care providers to avoid doing any harm to human subjects in their delivery of medical care. Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is a well-established irrigant for root canal treatment because of its antimicrobial and organic tissue remnant dissolution capability. However, little is known about the deleterious effect of this strong oxidizing agent on the integrity of human mineralized dentin. Iatrogenically-induced loss of dentin integrity may precipitate post-treatment root fracture and has potential medico-legal complications. In the present work, transmission electron microscopy provided evidence for collagen destruction in the surface/subsurface of dentin treated with high NaOCl concentrations and long contact times. Size exclusion chromatography showed that the hypochlorite anion, because of its small size, penetrated the water compartments of apatite-encapsulated collagen fibrils, degraded the collagen molecules and produced a 25-35µm thick, non-uniform "ghost mineral layer" with enlarged, coalesced dentinal tubules and their lateral branches. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy identified increases in apatite/collagen ratio in NaOCl-treated dentin. The apatite-rich, collagen-sparse dentin matrix that remained after NaOCl treatment is more brittle, as shown by the reductions in flexural strength. Understanding the deleterious effects of NaOCl on mineralized dentin enables one to balance the risks and benefits in using high NaOCl concentrations for lengthy periods in root canal debridement. Delineating the mechanism responsible for such a phenomenon enables high molecular weight, polymeric antimicrobial and tissue dissolution irrigants to be designed that abides by the maxim of 'primum non nocere' in contemporary medical practices.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The antimicrobial and tissue-dissolution capacities of NaOCl render it a well-accepted agent for root canal debridement. These highly desirable properties, however, appear to be intertwined with the untoward effect of collagen matrix degradation within mineralized dentin. Because of its small size, the hypochlorite anion is capable of infiltrating mineralized collagen and destroying the collagen fibrils, producing a mineral-rich, collagen sparse ghost mineral matrix with reduced flexural strength. Findings from the present work challenge the biosafety of NaOCl when it is used in high concentrations and for lengthy time periods during root canal treatment, and laid the background work for future biomaterials design in debridement of the canal space.

The role of biochemical of bone turnover markers in osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease: a consensus paper of the Belgian Bone Club

The exact role of biochemical markers of bone turnover in the management of metabolic bone diseases remains a topic of controversy. In this consensus paper, the Belgian Bone Club aimed to provide a state of the art on the use of these biomarkers in different clinical or physiological situations like in postmenopausal women, osteoporosis in men, in elderly patients, in patients suffering from bone metastasis, in patients with chronic renal failure, in pregnant or lactating women, in intensive care patients, and in diabetics. We also gave our considerations on the analytical issues linked to the use of these biomarkers, on potential new emerging biomarkers, and on the use of bone turnover biomarkers in the follow-up of patients treated with new drugs for osteoporosis.

Advanced glycation end products biphasically modulate bone resorption in osteoclast-like cells

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) disturb bone remodeling during aging, and this process is accelerated in diabetes. However, their role in modulation of osteoclast-induced bone resorption is controversial, with some studies indicating that AGEs enhance bone resorption and others showing the opposite effect. We determined whether AGEs present at different stages of osteoclast differentiation affect bone resorption differently. Based on increased levels of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and cathepsin K (CTSK), we identified day 4 of induction as the dividing time of cell fusion stage and mature stage in RAW264.7 cell-derived osteoclast-like cells (OCLs). AGE-modified BSA (50-400 μg/ml) or control BSA (100 μg/ml) was then added at the beginning of each stage. Results showed that the presence of AGEs at the cell fusion stage reduced pit numbers, resorption area, and CTSK expression. Moreover, expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB (RANK) as well as the number of TRAP-positive cells, nuclei per OCL, actin rings, and podosomes also decreased. However, the presence of AGEs at the mature stage enlarged the resorption area markedly and increased pit numbers slightly. Intriguingly, only the number of nuclei per OCL and podosomes increased. These data indicate that AGEs biphasically modulate bone resorption activity of OCLs in a differentiation stage-dependent manner. AGEs at the cell fusion stage reduce bone resorption dramatically, mainly via suppression of RANK expression in osteoclast precursors, whereas AGEs at the mature stage enhance bone resorption slightly, most likely by increasing the number of podosomes in mature OCLs.

The Elusive Antifibrotic Macrophage

Fibrotic diseases, especially of the liver, the cardiovascular system, the kidneys, and the lungs, account for approximately 45% of deaths in Western societies. Fibrosis is a serious complication associated with aging and/or chronic inflammation or injury and cannot be treated effectively yet. It is characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins by myofibroblasts and impaired degradation by macrophages. This ultimately destroys the normal structure of an organ, which leads to loss of function. Most efforts to develop drugs have focused on inhibiting ECM production by myofibroblasts and have not yielded many effective drugs yet. Another option is to stimulate the cells that are responsible for degradation and uptake of excess ECM, i.e., antifibrotic macrophages. However, macrophages are plastic cells that have many faces in fibrosis, including profibrotic behavior-stimulating ECM production. This can be dependent on their origin, as the different organs have tissue-resident macrophages with different origins and a various influx of incoming monocytes in steady-state conditions and during fibrosis. To be able to pharmacologically stimulate the right kind of behavior in fibrosis, a thorough characterization of antifibrotic macrophages is necessary, as well as an understanding of the signals they need to degrade ECM. In this review, we will summarize the current state of the art regarding the antifibrotic macrophage phenotype and the signals that stimulate its behavior.

The Role of Collagen Organization on the Properties of Bone

Bone is a complex tissue constituted by a collagen matrix filled in with crystal of hydroxyapatite (HAP). Bone mechanical properties are influenced by the collagen matrix which is organized into hierarchical structures from the individual type I collagen heterotrimer flanked by linear telopeptides at each end to the collagen fibrils that are interconnected by enzymatic and non-enzymatic cross-links. Although most studies focused on the role of collagen cross-links in bone strength, other organizational features may also play a role. At the molecular level it has been shown that homotrimer of type I collagen found in bone tissue of some patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is characterized by decreased mechanical competence compared to the regular heterotrimer. The state of C-telopeptide isomerization-which can be estimated by the measurement in body fluids of the native and isomerized isoforms-has also been shown to be associated with bone strength, particularly the post-yield properties independent of bone size and bone mineral density. Other higher hierarchical features of collagen organization have shown to be associated with changes in bone mechanical behavior in ex vivo models and may also be relevant to explain bone fragility in diseases characterized by collagen abnormalities e.g., OI and Paget's disease. These include the orientation of collagen fibrils in a regular longitudinal direction, the D-spacing period between collagen fibrils and the collagen-HAP interfacial bonding. Preliminary data indicate that some of these organizational features can change during treatment with bisphosphonate, raloxifene, and PTH suggesting that they may contribute to their anti-fracture efficacy. It remains however to be determined which of these parameters play a specific and independent role in bone matrix properties, what is the magnitude of mechanical strength explained by collagen organization, whether they are relevant to explain osteoporosis-induced bone fragility, and how they could be monitored non-invasively to develop efficient bone quality biomarkers.

Cysteine cathepsin activity regulation by glycosaminoglycans

Cysteine cathepsins are a group of enzymes normally found in the endolysosomes where they are primarily involved in intracellular protein turnover but also have a critical role in MHC II-mediated antigen processing and presentation. However, in a number of pathologies cysteine cathepsins were found to be heavily upregulated and secreted into extracellular milieu, where they were found to degrade a number of extracellular proteins. A major role in modulating cathepsin activities play glycosaminoglycans, which were found not only to facilitate their autocatalytic activation including at neutral pH, but also to critically modulate their activities such as in the case of the collagenolytic activity of cathepsin K. The interaction between cathepsins and glycosaminoglycans will be discussed in more detail.

Chondroitin sulfate promotes activation of cathepsin K

Cathepsin K (CatK), a major lysosomal collagenase produced by osteoclasts, plays an important role in bone resorption. Evidence exists that the collagenase activity of CatK is promoted by chondroitin sulfate (CS), a sulfated glycosaminoglycan. This study examines the role of CS in facilitating CatK activation. We have demonstrated that chondroitin 4-sulfate (C4-S) promotes autoprocessing of the pro-domain of CatK at pH ≤ 5, leading to a fully matured enzyme with collagenase and peptidase activities. We present evidence to demonstrate this autoactivation process is a trans-activation event that is efficiently inhibited by both the covalent cysteine protease inhibitor E-64 and the reversible selective CatK inhibitor L-006,235. During bone resorption, CatK and C4-S are co-localized at the ruffled border between osteoclast bone interface, supporting the proposal that CatK activation is accomplished through the combined action of the acidic environment together with the presence of a high concentration of C4-S. Formation of a multimeric complex between C4-S and pro-CatK has been speculated to accelerate CatK autoactivation and promote efficient collagen degradation. Together, these results demonstrate that CS plays an important role in contributing to the enhanced efficiency of CatK collagenase activity in vivo.

Steering the osteoclast through the demineralization-collagenolysis balance

There is a lot of interest for how and how much osteoclasts resorb bone. However, little is known about the mechanism which controls the orientation and the duration of a resorptive event, thereby determining the specific geometry of a cavitation. Here we show that the relative rate of collagenolysis vs. demineralization plays a critical role in this process. First we observed that when culturing osteoclasts on bone slices, excavations appeared either as round pits containing demineralized collagen, or as elongated trenches without demineralized collagen. This suggests that round pits are generated when collagen degradation is slower than demineralization, and trenches when collagen degradation is as fast as demineralization. Next we treated the osteoclasts with a low dose of a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor to slightly decrease the rate of demineralization, thereby allowing collagen degradation to proceed as fast as demineralization. This resulted in about a two-fold increase of the proportion of trenches, thus supporting our hypothesis. The same result was obtained if facilitating collagen degradation by pre-treating the bone slices with NaOCl. In contrast, when decreasing the rate of collagenolysis vs. demineralization by the addition of a cathepsin K specific inhibitor, the proportion of trenches fell close to 0%, and furthermore the round pits became almost half as deep. These observations lead to a model where the osteoclast resorption route starts perpendicularly to the bone surface, forming a pit, and continues parallel to the bone surface, forming a trench. Importantly, we show that the progress of the osteoclast along this route depends on the balance between the rate of collagenolysis and demineralization. We propose that the osteocytes and bone lining cells surrounding the osteoclast may act on this balance to steer the osteoclast resorptive activity in order to give the excavations a specific shape.

The contribution of collagen crosslinks to bone strength

Collagen crosslinking is a major post-translational modification of collagen which has important roles in determining the biomechanical competence of bone. Crosslinks can be divided into enzymatic lysil oxidase-mediated and non-enzymatic glycation-induced (advanced glycation end products, AGE) molecules. In addition, collagen in bone can also undergo spontaneous isomerization and racemization of the aspartic acid residues with the C-telopeptide (CTX), leading to the formation of two isomers namely α (newly formed collagen) and β (matured isomerized collagen) CTX. Several in vitro and ex vivo studies, relating the bone content of these crosslinks with bone strength, have shown that they contributed to the mechanical competence of trabecular and cortical bone-mainly on the post-yield properties-in part independent of the bone mineral content. In addition, AGEs such as pentosidine have been reported to alter the formation and propagation of microdamage by making the bone more brittle. The bone content of AGEs and isomerization can also be modified by antiresorptive and anabolic therapies. They may thus explain part of the antifracture efficacy of these treatments. The main challenge consists in the transposition of these in vitro/ex vivo studies to clinical applications for the development of a non-invasive biomarker, as none of currently identified collagen crosslinks (both enzymatic and nonenzymatic) is bone specific. Nevertheless, serum or urine levels of pentosidine and the ratio of α/β CTX have been reported to predict fracture risk in postmenopausal women, in men and in patients with type 2 diabetes.