Increased mobilization of c-kit+ Sca-1+ Lin- (KSL) cells and colony-forming units in spleen (CFU-S) following de novo formation of a stem cell niche depends on dynamic, but not stable, membranous ossification

Myositis ossificans circumscripta after surgery and radiotherapy and during sunitinib treatment: a case report

BACKGROUND

Myositis ossificans circumscripta is a self-limiting, benign, ossifying lesion that can affect any type of soft tissue. It is most commonly found in muscles as a solitary lesion. A history of recent trauma has been reported in approximately 50% of cases. Clinically, MOC presents as a painful swelling, which rapidly increases in size. The pain and inflammatory symptoms spontaneously disappear after approximately 2-6 weeks, and the mass stabilizes or decreases. Radiologically, myositis ossificans circumscripta can be divided into two phases. The first is the acute phase, which is followed by the mature phase 2-6 weeks later. During the acute phase, the radiological aspect does not show any specific abnormality. In the mature phase, plain radiographs and computed tomography show blurred calcifications around a hypodense center. We describe here the first case of myositis ossificans circumscripta, with appropriate follow-up, occurring during sunitinib exposure.

CASE PRESENTATION

We report a case of myositis ossificans circumscripta in a 34-year-old man (ethnicity unknown) receiving sunitinib for metastatic alveolar soft part sarcoma of the left thigh after surgery and radiotherapy. Four months after the first dose of sunitinib, the patient experienced painful swelling in the surgical scar area. Magnetic resonance imaging showed diffuse and marked edema of the anterior compartment of the thigh, without nodular lesions circumscribing a central core, and without bone signal abnormality. The increased visibility of the intermuscular fascia and convergence of normal muscle fibers (black hole effect), without the displacement seen in tumors, were suggestive of myositis. Therefore, antiangiogenic treatment was discontinued, and the symptoms rapidly resolved within a few days. Three weeks after the discontinuation of sunitinib, the inflammatory findings completely disappeared. Two months after the diagnosis of myositis ossificans circumscripta, plain radiographs and computed tomography showed an extensive calcified mass measuring > 12 cm. The continuation of favorable clinical outcomes was confirmed.

CONCLUSIONS

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of myositis ossificans circumscripta with appropriate follow-up occurring during sunitinib exposure. Owing to multimodal treatment of sarcoma, we cannot rule out the radiotherapy and surgery causality.

Deubiquitinase MYSM1 Is Essential for Normal Bone Formation and Mesenchymal Stem Cell Differentiation

Deubiquitinase MYSM1 has been shown to play a critical role in hematopoietic cell differentiation and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) maintenance. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells within the bone marrow. MSCs are progenitors to osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, and myocytes. Although, MSCs have been extensively studied, the roles of MYSM1 in these cells remain unclear. Here we describe the function of MYSM1 on MSC maintenance and differentiation. In this report, we found that Mysm1−/− mice had a lower bone mass both in long bone and calvaria compared with their control counterpart. Preosteoblasts from Mysm1−/− mice did not show changes in proliferation or osteogenesis when compared to WT mice. Conversely, Mysm1−/− MSCs showed enhanced autonomous differentiation and accelerated adipogenesis. Our results demonstrate that MYSM1 plays a critical role in MSC maintenance and differentiation. This study also underscores the biological significance of deubiquitinase activity in MSC function. Mysm1 may represent a potential therapeutic target for controlling MSC lineage differentiation, and possibly for the treatment of metabolic bone diseases such as osteoporosis.

The dynamics of adult haematopoiesis in the bone and bone marrow environment

This review explores the dynamic relationship between bone and bone marrow in the genesis and regulation of adult haematopoiesis and will provide an overview of the haematopoietic hierarchical system. This will include the haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) and its niches, as well as discuss emerging evidence of the reciprocal interplay between bone and bone marrow, and support of the pleiotropic role played by bone cells in the regulation of HSC proliferation, differentiation and function. In addition, this review will present demineralized bone matrix as a unique acellular matrix platform that permits the generation of ectopic de novo bone and bone marrow and provides a means of investigating the temporal sequence of bone and bone marrow regeneration. It is anticipated that the utilization of this matrix-based approach will help researchers in gaining deeper insights into the major events leading to adult haematopoiesis in the bone marrow. Furthermore, this model may potentially offer new avenues to manipulate the HSC niche and hence influence the functional output of the haematopoietic system.

Reprogrammed peripheral blood mononuclear cells are able to survive longer in irradiated female mice

Induced multipotent stem (iMS) cells are originated from somatic cells and become multipotent by genetic and/or epigenetic modifications. Previous studies have shown that the fish oocytes extracts (FOE) can induce skin fibroblast cells into iMS cells. In this study, we aim to determine whether FOE can similarly induce mouse peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) into the iMS state and if so, whether they can survive longer when they are transplanted into the irradiation female mice. PBMCs of GFP-transgenic male mice were cultured and transiently reprogrammed by FOE. They were deemed reaching the iMS state after detection of expression of stem cell markers. The iMS-like PBMCs were transplanted into female C57BL mice by tail vein injection. The spleen wet weights as well as numbers of colonies of the recipient mice were examined. The results showed the spleen wet weights and numbers of spleen colonies of FOE-induced group were all significantly higher than those of the non-induced group and negative control group. On day 90 after transplantation, FISH analysis detected the presence of Y chromosome in the induced group, but not of the other groups. The current findings demonstrate that FOE-induced PBMCs are able to survive longer in irradiated female mice.

Effect of reduced c-Kit signaling on bone marrow adiposity

c-Kit (CD117) is required for normal differentiation of osteoblasts from bone marrow stromal cells and for normal bone formation. Osteoblasts and adipocytes originate from a common progenitor cell, and a reciprocal relationship in differentiation of the two lineages is often observed. Therefore, the effects of abnormal c-kit signaling on bone marrow adiposity and adipocyte precursor pool size were evaluated in mouse strains with loss of function mutations in kit receptor or kit ligand. Additionally, to determine whether short-duration pharmacological disruption of kit signaling influences bone marrow adiposity, we administered the kit receptor antagonist gleevec (imatinib mesilate) for 1 week to middle aged (13-month-old) male rats known to have high levels of bone marrow fat. Compared to wild-type littermates, adipocytes were absent and adipocyte precursors greatly reduced in bone marrow from kit receptor-deficient Kit(W/W-ν) mice. Administration of secreted kit ligand to membrane-associated kit ligand-deficient Kit(Sl/Sl-d) mice was ineffective in inducing bone marrow adipogenesis. These findings suggest that activation of kit receptor by the membrane-associated form of kit ligand is required for kit signaling to promote bone marrow adipogenesis in mice. Rats treated with gleevec had lower adipocyte density compared to age-matched controls, suggesting that kit signaling is required to maintain normal bone marrow adiposity. Taken together, our results indicate that c-Kit signaling plays an important but previously unsuspected role in regulating bone marrow adiposity.

An in vivo model to study and manipulate the hematopoietic stem cell niche

Because the microenvironment that supports hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) proliferation and differentiation is not fully understood, we adapted a heterotopic bone formation model as a new approach for studying the HSC microenvironment in vivo. Endogenous HSCs homed to tissue-engineered ossicles and individually sorted HSCs from ossicles were able to reconstitute lethally irradiated mice. To further explore this model as a system to study the stem cell niche, ossicles were established with or without anabolic parathyroid hormone (PTH) treatment during the 4-week course of bone development. Histology and micro-computed tomography showed higher bone area-to-total area ratios, thicker cortical bone and trabecular bone, significantly higher bone mineral density and bone volume fraction in PTH-treated groups than in controls. By an in vivo competitive long-term reconstitution assay, HSC frequency in the ossicle marrow was 3 times greater in PTH groups than in controls. When whole bone marrow cells were directly injected into the ossicles after lethal irradiation, the PTH-treated groups showed an enhanced reconstitution rate compared with controls. These findings suggest the residence of HSCs in heterotopic bone marrow and support the future use of this ossicle model in elucidating the composition and regulation of the HSC niche.

Removal of the spleen in mice alters the cytokine expression profile of the marrow micro-environment and increases bone formation

Splenectomized mice express progressively increased numbers of platelets in the blood and reduced numbers of megakaryocytes in the marrow with age. The megakaryocytes in the marrow of these animals express reduced levels of Gata1, a transcription factor necessary for their maturation. In addition, the marrow from these animals expresses greater levels of cytokines (TGF-beta, PDGF-alpha, and VEGF) known to be produced at high levels by megakaryocytes expressing reduced levels of Gata1. This high level of cytokine expression is in turn associated with active osteoblast proliferation localized to areas of the femur, where megakaryocytes expressing reduced Gata1 levels are also found. These results confirm the role of megakaryocytes as regulator of bone formation in mice and suggest that a cross-talk between the spleen and marrow may regulate the total numbers of hemopoietic niches present in an animal.

Strontium can increase some osteoblasts without increasing hematopoietic stem cells

Osteoblasts are a key component in the regulation of the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche. Manipulating osteoblast numbers results in a parallel change in HSC numbers. We tested the activity of strontium (Sr), a bone anabolic agent that enhances osteoblast function and inhibits osteoclast activity, on hematopoiesis. In vitro treatment of primary murine osteoblasts with Sr increased their ability to form bone nodules, and in vivo it increased osteoblast number, bone volume, and trabecular thickness and decreased trabecular pattern factor. However, the administration of Sr had no influence on primitive HSCs, although the number of hematopoietic progenitors was higher than in control cells. When Sr-treated mice were used as donors for HSC transplantation, no difference in the engraftment ability was observed, whereas hematopoietic recovery was delayed when they were used as recipients. Despite the changes in osteoblast numbers, no increment in the number of N-cadherin(+) osteoblasts and N-cadherin transcripts could be detected in Sr-treated mice. Therefore, increasing the overall number and function of osteoblasts without increasing N-cadherin(+) cells is not sufficient to enhance HSC quantity and function. Our study further supports the notion that N-cadherin(+) osteoblasts are fundamental in the hematopoietic niche.