Phenolic acids prevent sex-steroid deficiency-induced bone loss and bone marrow adipogenesis in mice

Phenolic acids, such as hippuric acid (HA) and 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid (3-3-PPA), can be produced from microbiome digestion of polyphenols. Previously it was found that HA and 3-3-PPA facilitate bone formation and suppress bone resorption. However, the mechanism of action by which HA and 3-3-PPA protect bone from degeneration is currently unknown. In this report, we present that HA and 3-3-PPA suppression of bone resorption is able to ameliorate bone loss in an ovariectomy (OVX) osteopenic mouse model though not to the extent of Zoledronic acid (ZA). HA and 3-3-PPA treatments were shown to significantly decrease bone marrow adipocyte-like cell formation and inhibited gene expression of key adipogenesis regulator peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and lipoprotein lipase (Lpl) in bone from OVX mice. In addition, ChIP experiments showed that the association between PPARγ and Lpl promoter region in preadipocyte-like cells was significantly suppressed following HA or 3-3-PPA treatment. Contrasting HA and 3-3-PPA, ZA significantly increased TRAP activity in the area close to growth plate and significantly suppressed bone cell proliferation. These data suggest that phenolics acids such as HA or 3-3-PPA may prevent bone degeneration after OVX through suppression of inflammatory milieu in the bone.

Decreased bone resorption in Ezh2 myeloid cell conditional knockout mouse model

Osteoclasts derived from hematopoietic stem cells control bone resorption. Identifying novel molecules that can epigenetically regulate osteoclastogenesis is important for developing novel treatments for osteoporosis and other disorders associated with bone deterioration and promoting healthy bone formation. The polycomb group (PcG) protein enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (Ezh2), a histone lysine methyltransferase, is associated with epigenetic regulation of numerous cellular processes, but its involvement in bone cell development and homeostasis is not yet clear. Here, LysM-Cre mice were crossed with Ezh2^flox/flox mice to delete Ezh2 in myeloid cell lineage mature macrophages. Conditional knockout of Ezh2 (CKO) in myeloid cell line resulted in significant increases in postnatal bone growth in the first 6 months of life for both male and female mice. For female mice, optimal bone mass was seen for mice with Ezh2 deleted in both chromosomes in a pair (f/f Cre⁺ ; CKO). For male mice, optimal bone mass was found after deletion of Ezh2 from just one chromosome (f/- Cre⁺ ) with no difference in bone phenotype between f/- Cre⁺ and CKO male mice. In addition to the gender-specific difference in bone phenotype, Ezh2 CKO mice had significantly less macrophages (CD11b+) present in the bone marrow compared with control mice as well as significantly more mature osteoblasts and bone formation biomarkers present (P1NP, osteocalcin). Inflammatory array for protein lysed from bone tissue revealed deletion of Ezh2 decreased inflammatory milieu in both male and female mice compared with controls. Unexpectedly, myeloid cell deletion of Ezh2 also increased the number of mature osteoblast present in the bone. Deletion of Ezh2 also led to an increase in gene expression of osteoclast-suppressive genes IRF8, MafB, and Arg1 due to a decrease in the presence of the suppressive H3K27me3 epigenetic mark. These findings suggest that manipulation of Ezh2 expression may be a viable strategy to combat bone resorptive disorders such as osteoporosis or arthritis.

Maternal high-fat diet modifies epigenetic marks H3K27me3 and H3K27ac in bone to regulate offspring osteoblastogenesis in mice

Studies from both humans and animal models indicated that maternal chronic poor-quality diet, especially a high fat diet (HFD), is significantly associated with reduced bone density and childhood fractures in offspring. When previously studied in a rat model, our data suggested that maternal HFD changes epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation and histone modifications to control osteoblast metabolism. In mouse embryonic and postnatal offspring bone samples, a ChIP-sequencing (ChIP-Seq)-based genome-wide method was used to locate the repressive histone mark H3K27me3 (mediated via the polycomb histone methyltransferase, Ezh2) and expressive histone mark H3K27ac (p300/CBP mediated) throughout the genome. Using isolated mouse embryonic cells from foetal calvaria (osteoblast-like cells), H3K27me3 ChIP-Seq showed that 147 gene bodies and 26 gene promoters in HFD embryotic samples had a greater than twofold increase in H3K27me peaks compared to controls. Among the HFD samples, Pthlh and Col2a1 that are important genes playing roles during chondro- and osteogenesis had significantly enriched levels of H3K27me3. Their decreased mRNA expression was confirmed by real-time PCR and standard ChIP analysis, indicating a strong association with Ezh2 mediated H3K27me3 epigenetic changes. Using embryonic calvaria osteoblastic cells and offspring bone samples, H3K27ac ChIP-Seq analysis showed that osteoblast inhibitor genes Tnfaip3 and Twist1 had significantly enriched peaks of H3K27ac in HFD samples compared to controls. Their increased gene expression and association with H3K27ac were also confirmed by real-time PCR and standard ChIP analysis. These findings indicate that chronic maternal HFD changes histone trimethylation and acetylation epigenetic marks to regulate expression of genes controlling osteoblastogenesis.