Browsing by Author "Alvarez, Marta"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Aging negatively impacts the ability of megakaryocytes to stimulate osteoblast proliferation and bone mass
    (Elsevier, 2019) Maupin, Kevin A.; Himes, Evan R.; Plett, Artur P.; Chua, Hui Lin; Singh, Pratibha; Ghosh, Joydeep; Mohamad, Safa F.; Abeysekera, Irushi; Fisher, Alexa; Sampson, Carol; Hong, Jung-Min; Childress, Paul; Alvarez, Marta; Srour, Edward F.; Bruzzaniti, Angela; Pelus, Louis M.; Orschell, Christie M.; Kacena, Melissa A.; Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine
    Osteoblast number and activity decreases with aging, contributing to the age-associated decline of bone mass, but the mechanisms underlying changes in osteoblast activity are not well understood. Here, we show that the age-associated bone loss critically depends on impairment of the ability of megakaryocytes (MKs) to support osteoblast proliferation. Co-culture of osteoblast precursors with young MKs is known to increase osteoblast proliferation and bone formation. However, co-culture of osteoblast precursors with aged MKs resulted in significantly fewer osteoblasts compared to co-culture with young MKs, and this was associated with the downregulation of transforming growth factor beta. In addition, the ability of MKs to increase bone mass was attenuated during aging as transplantation of GATA1low/low hematopoietic donor cells (which have elevated MKs/MK precursors) from young mice resulted in an increase in bone mass of recipient mice compared to transplantation of young wild-type donor cells, whereas transplantation of GATA1low/low donor cells from old mice failed to enhance bone mass in recipient mice compared to transplantation of old wild-type donor cells. These findings suggest that the preservation or restoration of the MK-mediated induction of osteoblast proliferation during aging may hold the potential to prevent age-associated bone loss and resulting fractures.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The effects of spaceflight and fracture healing on distant skeletal sites
    (Springer Nature, 2019-08-06) Dadwal, Ushashi C.; Maupin, Kevin A.; Zamarioli, Ariane; Tucker, Aamir; Harris, Jonathan S.; Fischer, James P.; Rytlewski, Jeffery D.; Scofield, David C.; Wininger, Austin E.; Bhatti, Fazal Ur Rehman; Alvarez, Marta; Childress, Paul J.; Chakraborty, Nabarun; Gautam, Aarti; Hammamieh, Rasha; Kacena, Melissa A.; Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine
    Spaceflight results in reduced mechanical loading of the skeleton, which leads to dramatic bone loss. Low bone mass is associated with increased fracture risk, and this combination may compromise future, long-term, spaceflight missions. Here, we examined the systemic effects of spaceflight and fracture surgery/healing on several non-injured bones within the axial and appendicular skeleton. Forty C57BL/6, male mice were randomized into the following groups: (1) Sham surgery mice housed on the earth (Ground + Sham); (2) Femoral segmental bone defect surgery mice housed on the earth (Ground + Surgery); (3) Sham surgery mice housed in spaceflight (Flight + Sham); and (4) Femoral segmental bone defect surgery mice housed in spaceflight (Flight + Surgery). Mice were 9 weeks old at the time of launch and were euthanized approximately 4 weeks after launch. Micro-computed tomography (μCT) was used to evaluate standard bone parameters in the tibia, humerus, sternebra, vertebrae, ribs, calvarium, mandible, and incisor. One intriguing finding was that both spaceflight and surgery resulted in virtually identical losses in tibial trabecular bone volume fraction, BV/TV (24-28% reduction). Another important finding was that surgery markedly changed tibial cortical bone geometry. Understanding how spaceflight, surgery, and their combination impact non-injured bones will improve treatment strategies for astronauts and terrestrial humans alike.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Lnk Deficiency Leads to TPO-Mediated Osteoclastogenesis and Increased Bone Mass Phenotype
    (Wiley, 2017-08) Olivos III, David J.; Alvarez, Marta; Cheng, Ying-Hua; Hooker, R. Adam; Ciovacco, Wendy A.; Bethel, Monique; McGough, Haley; Yim, Christopher; Chitteti, Brahmananda R.; Eleniste, Pierre P.; Horowitz, Mark C.; Srour, Edward F.; Bruzzaniti, Angela; Fuchs, Robyn K.; Kacena, Melissa A.; Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine
    The Lnk adapter protein negatively regulates the signaling of thrombopoietin (TPO), the main megakaryocyte (MK) growth factor. Lnk-deficient (-/-) mice have increased TPO signaling and increased MK number. Interestingly, several mouse models exist in which increased MK number leads to a high bone mass phenotype. Here we report the bone phenotype of these mice. MicroCT and static histomorphometric analyses at 20 weeks showed the distal femur of Lnk-/- mice to have significantly higher bone volume fraction and trabecular number compared to wild-type (WT) mice. Notably, despite a significant increase in the number of osteoclasts (OC), and decreased bone formation rate in Lnk-/- mice compared to WT mice, Lnk-/- mice demonstrated a 2.5-fold greater BV/TV suggesting impaired OC function in vivo. Additionally, Lnk-/- mouse femurs exhibited non-significant increases in mid-shaft cross-sectional area, yet increased periosteal BFR compared to WT femurs was observed. Lnk-/- femurs also had non-significant increases in polar moment of inertia and decreased cortical bone area and thickness, resulting in reduced bone stiffness, modulus, and strength compared to WT femurs. Of note, Lnk is expressed by OC lineage cells and when Lnk-/- OC progenitors are cultured in the presence of TPO, significantly more OC are observed than in WT cultures. Lnk is also expressed in osteoblast (OB) cells and in vitro reduced alkaline phosphatase activity was observed in Lnk-/- cultures. These data suggest that both direct effects on OB and OC as well as indirect effects of MK in regulating OB contributes to the observed high bone mass. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 2231-2240, 2017.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Megakaryocytes promote osteoclastogenesis in aging
    (Impact Journals, 2020-07-07) Kanagasabapathy, Deepa; Blosser, Rachel J.; Maupin, Kevin A.; Hong, Jung Min; Alvarez, Marta; Ghosh, Joydeep; Mohamad, Safa F.; Aguilar-Perez, Alexandra; Srour, Edward F.; Kacena, Melissa A.; Bruzzaniti, Angela; Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine
    Megakaryocytes (MKs) support bone formation by stimulating osteoblasts (OBs) and inhibiting osteoclasts (OCs). Aging results in higher bone resorption, leading to bone loss. Whereas previous studies showed the effects of aging on MK-mediated bone formation, the effects of aging on MK-mediated OC formation is poorly understood. Here we examined the effect of thrombopoietin (TPO) and MK-derived conditioned media (CM) from young (3-4 months) and aged (22-25 months) mice on OC precursors. Our findings showed that aging significantly increased OC formation in vitro. Moreover, the expression of the TPO receptor, Mpl, and circulating TPO levels were elevated in the bone marrow cavity. We previously showed that MKs from young mice secrete factors that inhibit OC differentiation. However, rather than inhibiting OC development, we found that MKs from aged mice promote OC formation. Interestingly, these age-related changes in MK functionality were only observed using female MKs, potentially implicating the sex steroid, estrogen, in signaling. Further, RANKL expression was highly elevated in aged MKs suggesting MK-derived RANKL signaling may promote osteoclastogenesis in aging. Taken together, these data suggest that modulation in TPO-Mpl expression in bone marrow and age-related changes in the MK secretome promote osteoclastogenesis to impact skeletal aging.