Project description:The periosteum contains cells which function as a reservoir of stem cells and progenitors and contribute to cortical expansion during growth, cortical bone homeostasis and repair. However, the local or paracrine factors that govern stem cell renewal and differentiation within the periosteal niche remains elusive. Cathepsin K (Ctsk) together with additional cell surface markers marks a subset of stem cells in the periosteum (PSC) which possess self-renewal ability and inducible multipotency. These PSCs produce osteoblasts mediating periosteal bone formation and fracture repair. Sfrp4 is expressed in periosteal Ctsk-lineage cells and using CtskCre mice that are either wild type or Sfrp4-/-, we report here that Sfrp4 deletion decreases the pool of PSCs, impairs their self-renewal, their ability to give rise to their derivatives and their clonal multipotency for differentiation into osteoblasts and chondrocytes in vitro and formation of bone organoids in vivo. Bulk RNA sequencing analysis in Ctsk-lineage PSCs demonstrated that Sfrp4 deletion leads to downregulation of signaling pathways associated with skeletal development, positive regulation of bone mineralization and wound healing. Sfrp4 deletion hampers the Ctsk-lineage PSC response and recruitment after bone injury and leads to an impaired periosteal response. Periosteal Ctsk-lineage cells respond to PTH(1-34) treatment with an increase in the % of PSCs, a response not seen in the absence of Sfrp4. Importantly, bone histomorphometry analysis showed that in the absence of Sfrp4, PTH(1-34)-dependent increase in cortical thickness, periosteal bone formation is markedly impaired.
Project description:The bone is essential for locomotion, calcium storage and harboring the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that supply the body with mature blood cells throughout life. HSCs reside at the interface of the bone and bone marrow (BM), where active bone remodeling takes place. Although the cellular components of the BM niche have been characterized, little is known about its epigenetic regulation. Here we find that the histone methylation regulator PTIP (Pax interaction with transcription-activation domain protein-1) is required to maintain the integrity of the BM niche by promoting osteoclast differentiation. PTIP directly promotes chromatin changes required for the expression of Pparg (Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ), a transcription factor essential for osteoclastogenesis. PTIP deletion leads to a drastic reduction of HSCs in the BM and induces extramedullary hematopoiesis. Furthermore, exposure of acute myeloid leukemia cells to a PTIP-deficient BM microenvironment leads to a reduction in leukemia initiating cells (LICs) and increased survival upon transplantation. Taken together, our data identify PTIP as a novel epigenetic regulator of osteoclastogenesis that is required for the integrity of the BM niche to sustain both normal hematopoiesis and leukemia.
Project description:To investigate the transcriptomic differences between bone marrow mesenchymals stem cells and periosteal skeletal stem cells at steady state, and periosteal skeletal stem cells 72 hours after bone transplantation