title: Glucocorticoids inhibit the transcriptional activity of LEF/TCF in differentiating osteoblasts in a glycogen synthase kinase-3beta-dependent and -independent manner.
abstract: Glucocorticoids, widely used as immune suppressors, cause osteoporosis by inhibiting bone formation. In MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cultures, dexamethasone (DEX) activates glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK3beta) and inhibits a differentiation-related cell cycle that occurs at a commitment stage immediately after confluence. Here we show that DEX inhibition of the differentiation-related cell cycle is associated with a decrease in beta-catenin levels and inhibition of LEF/TCF-mediated transcription. These inhibitory activities are no longer observed in the presence of lithium, a GSK3beta inhibitor. DEX decreased the serum-responsive phosphorylation of protein kinase B/Akt-Ser(473) within minutes, and this inhibition was also observed after 12 h. When the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway was inhibited by wortmannin, DEX no longer inhibited beta-catenin levels. Furthermore, DEX-mediated inhibition of LEF/TCF transcriptional activity was attenuated in the presence of dominant negative forms of either PI3K or protein kinase B/Akt. These results suggest cross-talk between the PI3K/Akt and Wnt signaling pathways. Consistent with a role for Wnt signaling in the osteoblast differentiation-related cell cycle, wortmannin partially negated the DEX inhibition of this cell cycle. DEX also induced histone deacetylase (HDAC) 1, which is known to inhibit LEF/TCF transcriptional activity. Overexpression of HDAC1 negated the inhibitory effect of DEX on LEF/TCF transcriptional activity. In the presence of trichostatin A, a deacetylase inhibitor, DEX-mediated inhibition of the differentiation-related cell cycle was partially negated. When administered together, wortmannin and trichostatin A completely negated the inhibitory effect of DEX on the differentiation-related cell cycle. These results suggest that inhibition of a PI3K/Akt/GSK3beta/beta-catenin/LEF axis and stimulation of HDAC1 cooperate to mediate the inhibitory effect of DEX on Wnt signaling and the osteoblast differentiation-related cell cycle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Institute for Genetic Medicine, Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA.
authors.forename: Elisheva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Baruch
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Frenkel
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; D006655:Histone Deacetylases / Q000378:metabolism; D051821:Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding Factor 1; D051379:Mice; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D010766:Phosphorylation; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D051821:Lymphoid Enhancer-Binding Factor 1; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D003907:Dexamethasone; D000071679:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta; C000605507:Gsk3b protein, mouse; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D038362:Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3; D006655:Histone Deacetylases