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Chen W, Lu Y, Zhang Y, Wu J, McVicar A, Chen Y, Zhu S, Zhu G, Lu Y, Zhang J, McConnell M, Li YP. Cbfβ regulates Wnt/β-catenin, Hippo/Yap, and TGFβ signaling pathways in articular cartilage homeostasis and protects from ACLT surgery-induced osteoarthritis. bioRxiv 2024:2024.01.15.575763. [PMID: 38293189 PMCID: PMC10827176 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.15.575763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
As the most common degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis (OA) contributes significantly to pain and disability during aging. Several genes of interest involved in articular cartilage damage in OA have been identified. However, the direct causes of OA are poorly understood. Evaluating the public human RNA-seq dataset showed that Cbfβ, (subunit of a heterodimeric Cbfβ/Runx1,Runx2, or Runx3 complex) expression is decreased in the cartilage of patients with OA. Here, we found that the chondrocyte-specific deletion of Cbfβ in tamoxifen-induced Cbfβf/fCol2α1-CreERT mice caused a spontaneous OA phenotype, worn articular cartilage, increased inflammation, and osteophytes. RNA-sequencing analysis showed that Cbfβ deficiency in articular cartilage resulted in reduced cartilage regeneration, increased canonical Wnt signaling and inflammatory response, and decreased Hippo/YAP signaling and TGF-β signaling. Immunostaining and western blot validated these RNA-seq analysis results. ACLT surgery-induced OA decreased Cbfβ and Yap expression and increased active β-catenin expression in articular cartilage, while local AAV-mediated Cbfβ overexpression promoted Yap expression and diminished active β-catenin expression in OA lesions. Remarkably, AAV-mediated Cbfβ overexpression in knee joints of mice with OA showed the significant protective effect of Cbfβ on articular cartilage in the ACLT OA mouse model. Overall, this study, using loss-of-function and gain-of-function approaches, uncovered that low expression of Cbfβ may be the cause of OA. Moreover, Local admission of Cbfβ may rescue and protect OA through decreasing Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and increasing Hippo/Yap signaling and TGFβ/Smad2/3 signaling in OA articular cartilage, indicating that local Cbfβ overexpression could be an effective strategy for treatment of OA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Chen
- Division in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Yun Lu
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Jinjin Wu
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Abigail McVicar
- Division in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Yilin Chen
- Division in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Siyu Zhu
- Division in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Guochun Zhu
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - You Lu
- Division in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Jiayang Zhang
- Division in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Matthew McConnell
- Division in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Yi-Ping Li
- Division in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
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