Expression of Halo-hFGF18 and study of its effect on differentiation of ATDC5 cells

Effect and mechanism of recombinant human fibroblast growth factor 18 on osteoporosis in OVX mice

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate the effect and the mechanism of recombinant human fibroblast growth factor 18 (rhFGF18) on postmenopausal osteoporosis.

METHODS

The effect of rhFGF18 on the proliferation and apoptosis of osteoblasts and the mechanism underlying such an effect was evaluated using an oxidative stress model of the MC3T3-E1 cell line. Furthermore, ovariectomy was performed on ICR mice to imitate estrogen-deficiency postmenopausal osteoporosis. Bone metabolism and bone morphological parameters in the ovariectomized (OVX) mice were evaluated.

RESULTS

The results obtained from the cell model showed that FGF18 promoted MC3T3-E1 cell proliferation by activating the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 instead of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). FGF18 also prevented cells from damage inflicted by oxidative stress via inhibition of apoptosis. After FGF18 administration, the expression level of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 in the mice was upregulated, whereas those of the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase-3 were downregulated. Administering FGF18 also improved bone metabolism and bone morphological parameters in OVX mice.

CONCLUSIONS

FGF18 could effectively prevent bone loss in OVX mice by enhancing osteoblastogenesis and protecting osteoblasts from oxidative stress-induced apoptosis.

A method for the expression of fibroblast growth factor 14 and assessment of its neuroprotective effect in an Alzheimer's disease model

Background

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 14 is a member of the FGF family that is mainly expressed in the central nervous system. FGF14 has a close association with the occurrence of neurodegenerative conditions; however, its significance in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has yet to be evaluated. Therefore, we sought to obtain a large amount of exogenous FGF14 protein and explore its effect in a cellular model of AD.

Methods

FGF14 protein was expressed in an Escherichia coli system using gene recombination technology. Purified protein was obtained through washing and renaturation of inclusion bodies combined with nickel column affinity chromatography. The AD model was established via Aβ25-35-induced injury in PC12 cells. Changes in the levels of lactate dehydrogenase and malondialdehyde were detected, and the neuroprotective effect of recombinant human FGF14 (rhFGF14) was evaluated through double-fluorescence staining and flow cytometry apoptosis detection. For further exploration of rhFGF14-mediated regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, western blot was employed.

Results

We successfully induced large amounts of insoluble rhFGF14. Following solubilization and refolding of the rhFGF14 from inclusion bodies, high purity rhFGF14 was purified by Nickel affinity column chromatography. The results showed that rhFGF14 alleviated Aβ25-3-induced PC12 cell injury by inhibiting the phosphorylation of p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase, thus suppressing the MAPK signaling pathway.

Conclusions

FGF14 performed a neuroprotective role in our in vitro AD model via its inhibition of MAPK signaling, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic drug for neurodegenerative conditions.