title: Regulation of osteoblast differentiation by Nurr1 in MC3T3-E1 cell line and mouse calvarial osteoblasts.
abstract: The orphan nuclear receptor Nurr1 is primarily expressed in the central nervous system. It has been shown that Nurr1 is necessary for terminal differentiation of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in ventral midbrain. The receptor, however, is also expressed in other organs including bone, even though the role of Nurr1 is not yet understood. Therefore, we investigated the role of Nurr1 in osteoblast differentiation in MC3T3-E1 cells and calvarial osteoblasts derived from Nurr1 null newborn pups. Our results revealed that reduced Nurr1 expression, using Nurr1 siRNA in MC3T3-E1 cells, affected the expression of osteoblast differentiation marker genes, osteocalcin (OCN) and collagen type I alpha 1 (COL1A1), as measured by quantitative real-time PCR. The activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), another osteoblast differentiation marker gene, was also decreased in Nurr1 siRNA-treated MC3T3-E1 cells. In addition, Nurr1 overexpression increased OCN and COL1A1 expression. Furthermore, consistent with these results, during osteoblast differentiation, the expression of osteoblast marker genes was decreased in primary cultured mouse calvarial osteoblasts derived from Nurr1 null mice. Collectively, our results suggest that Nurr1 is important for osteoblast differentiation.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Mi Kyeong
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hosoon
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Minchan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.forename: Vera M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Nikodem
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D000090602:Collagen Type I, alpha 1 Chain; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D057126:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 4, Group A, Member 2; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012886:Skull / Q000166:cytology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C000716127:COL1A1 protein, human; D000090602:Collagen Type I, alpha 1 Chain; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C539882:NR4A2 protein, human; C539883:Nr4a2 protein, mouse; D057126:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 4, Group A, Member 2; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D014157:Transcription Factors