Pinctada fucata mantle gene 3 (PFMG3) promotes differentiation in mouse osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1).
Nacre is secreted from the mantle of pearl oysters. In vivo and in vitro experiments have demonstrated that water-soluble extracts of nacre stimulate osteoblast differentiation and matrix mineralization, but the component responsible for this activity is unclear. It was reported that Pinctada fucata mantle gene 3 (PFMG3) with an N-terminal signal peptide could be secreted into the nacre of P. fucata. Here we report that PFMG3 is specifically expressed at the outer fold of the mantle and could promote calcium carbonate crystal formation in vitro. Consistent with this observation, we found that matrix mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells, a murine osteoblast cell line, is accelerated upon treatment with PFMG3. Intriguingly, we observed that alkaline phosphatase activity and cell viability are increased after treating MC3T3-E1 cell with PFMG3. mRNA levels of osteoblast-specific marker genes osteocalcin and osteopontin are also increased. We conclude that PFMG3 from the mantle of P. fucata promotes MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cell differentiation, matrix mineralization, and calcium carbonate deposition in vitro. Our findings provide new evidence that PFMG3 may be used as a potential therapeutic molecule for the treatment of osteoporosis.
Protein Science Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. wangxiaoyan05@gmail.com
Xiaoyan
X
Wang
Shangfeng
S
Liu
Liping
L
Xie
Rongqing
R
Zhang
Zhao
Z
Wang
D016475:3T3 Cells; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic; D002119:Calcium Carbonate / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects; D049911:Pinctada / Q000378:metabolism*; D021382:Protein Sorting Signals; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000494:pharmacology
D021382:Protein Sorting Signals; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D002119:Calcium Carbonate