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Liu Z, Han W, Meng J, Pi Y, Wu T, Fan Y, Guo Q, Hu X, Chen Y, Jiang W, Zhao F. Mohawk protects against tendon damage via suppressing Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Heliyon 2024; 10:e25658. [PMID: 38370202 PMCID: PMC10867664 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Degenerative tendon injuries are common clinical problems associated with overuse or aging, and understanding the mechanisms of tendon injury and regeneration can contribute to the study of tendon healing and repair. As a transcription factor, Mohawk (Mkx) is responsible for tendons development, yet, the roles of which in tendon damage remain mostly elusive. In this study, using Mkx overexpressed mice on long treadmill as an in vivo model and MkxOE Achilles tenocytes stimulated by equiaxial stretch as an in vitro model, we anaylsed the effects of Mkx overexpression on the tendon. Mkx and tendon tension strength were decreased after the expose to excessive mechanical forces, and Mkx overexpression protected the tendon from damage. Moreover, we revealed that the Wnt/β-catenin activation, inflammation, and Runx2 expression were increased at the injured Achilles tendon, upregulated Mkx significantly reversed the increased Wnt/β-catenin pathway, Tnf-α, Il-1β, and Il-6 levels, and reduced tendon cell damage. However, Wnt3a, IWR and BIO had not significantly affected the Mkx expression in achilles tenocytes. In conclusion, Mkx is involved in tendon healing and protects the tendon from damage through suppressing Wnt/β-catenin pathway, suggesting Mkx/Wnt/β-catenin pathway may be potential therapeutic targets for tendon damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziming Liu
- Department of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
- Engineering Research Center of Sports Trauma Treatment Technology and Devices, Ministry of Education, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Wenfeng Han
- Department of Orthopedics, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Jiao Meng
- Department of Neurosurgery, Bijie Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital, Bijie, Guizhou, China
| | - Yanbing Pi
- Department of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
- Engineering Research Center of Sports Trauma Treatment Technology and Devices, Ministry of Education, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Tong Wu
- Department of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
- Engineering Research Center of Sports Trauma Treatment Technology and Devices, Ministry of Education, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yifei Fan
- Department of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
- Engineering Research Center of Sports Trauma Treatment Technology and Devices, Ministry of Education, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Qinwei Guo
- Department of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
- Engineering Research Center of Sports Trauma Treatment Technology and Devices, Ministry of Education, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoqing Hu
- Department of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
- Engineering Research Center of Sports Trauma Treatment Technology and Devices, Ministry of Education, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yuhua Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, Bijie Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital, Bijie, Guizhou, China
| | - Wenxiao Jiang
- Department of Sports Medicine, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University (Qingdao Campus), Qingdao, Shandong, China
| | - Feng Zhao
- Department of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine Institute, Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
- Engineering Research Center of Sports Trauma Treatment Technology and Devices, Ministry of Education, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
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Chen G, Fan D, Zhang W, Wang S, Gu J, Gao Y, He L, Li W, Zhang C, Li M, Zhang Y, Liu Z, Hao Q. Mkx mediates tenogenic differentiation but incompletely inhibits the proliferation of hypoxic MSCs. Stem Cell Res Ther 2021; 12:426. [PMID: 34321079 PMCID: PMC8317301 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-021-02506-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Hypoxia has been shown to be able to induce tenogenic differentiation and proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) which lead hypoxia-induced MSCs to be a potential treatment for tendon injury. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying the tenogenic differentiation and proliferation process of hypoxic MSCs, which limited the application of differentiation-inducing therapies in tendon repair. This study was designed to investigate the role of Mohawk homeobox (Mkx) in tenogenic differentiation and proliferation of hypoxic MSCs. Methods qRT-PCR, western blot, and immunofluorescence staining were performed to evaluate the expression of Mkx and other tendon-associated markers in adipose-derived MSCs (AMSCs) and bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMSCs) under hypoxia condition. Small interfering RNA technique was applied to observe the effect of Mkx levels on the expression of tendon-associated markers in normoxic and hypoxic BMSCs. Hypoxic BMSCs infected with Mkx-specific short hair RNA (shRNA) or scramble were implanted into the wound gaps of injured patellar tendons to assess the effect of Mkx levels on tendon repair. In addition, cell counting kit-8 assay, colony formation unit assay, cell cycle analysis, and EdU assay were adopted to determine the proliferation capacity of normoxic or hypoxic BMSCs infected with or without Mkx-specific shRNA. Results Our data showed that the expression of Mkx significantly increased in hypoxic AMSCs and increased much higher in hypoxic BMSCs. Our results also detected that the expression of tenogenic differentiation markers after downregulation of Mkx were significantly decreased not only in normoxic BMSCs, but also in hypoxic BMSCs which paralleled the inferior histological evidences, worse biomechanical properties, and smaller diameters of collagen fibrils in vivo. In addition, our in vitro data demonstrated that the optical density values, the clone numbers, the percentage of cells in S phage, and cell proliferation potential of both normoxic and hypoxic BMSCs were all significantly increased after knockdown of Mkx and were also significantly enhanced in both AMSCs and BMSCs in hypoxia condition under which the expression of Mkx was upregulated. Conclusions These findings strongly suggested that Mkx mediated hypoxia-induced tenogenic differentiation of MSCs but could not completely repress the proliferation of hypoxic MSCs. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13287-021-02506-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanyin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Biotechnology Center, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Dong Fan
- Department of General Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Wangqian Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Biotechnology Center, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Shuning Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Biotechnology Center, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jintao Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Biotechnology Center, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yuan Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Biotechnology Center, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Lei He
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Biotechnology Center, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Weina Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Biotechnology Center, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Cun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Biotechnology Center, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Meng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Biotechnology Center, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yingqi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Biotechnology Center, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Zhaohui Liu
- Department of Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
| | - Qiang Hao
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Biotechnology Center, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
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Abstract
Tendons and ligaments provide connections between muscle and bone or bone and bone to enable locomotion. Damage to tendons and ligaments caused by acute or chronic injury or associated with aging and arthritis is a prevalent cause of disability. Improvements in approaches for the treatment of these conditions depend on a better understanding of tendon and ligament development, cell biology, and pathophysiology. This review focuses on recent advances in the discovery of transcription factors that control ligament and tendon cell differentiation, how cell and extracellular matrix homeostasis are altered in disease, and how this new insight can lead to novel therapeutic approaches. © 2017 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroshi Asahara
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA.,Department of Systems BioMedicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masafumi Inui
- Laboratory of Animal Regeneration Systemology, Department of Life Science, School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Martin K Lotz
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
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Suzuki H, Ito Y, Shinohara M, Yamashita S, Ichinose S, Kishida A, Oyaizu T, Kayama T, Nakamichi R, Koda N, Yagishita K, Lotz MK, Okawa A, Asahara H. Gene targeting of the transcription factor Mohawk in rats causes heterotopic ossification of Achilles tendon via failed tenogenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:7840-5. [PMID: 27370800 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1522054113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell-based or pharmacological approaches for promoting tendon repair are currently not available because the molecular mechanisms of tendon development and healing are not well understood. Although analysis of knockout mice provides many critical insights, small animals such as mice have some limitations. In particular, precise physiological examination for mechanical load and the ability to obtain a sufficient number of primary tendon cells for molecular biology studies are challenging using mice. Here, we generated Mohawk (Mkx)(-/-) rats by using CRISPR/Cas9, which showed not only systemic hypoplasia of tendons similar to Mkx(-/-) mice, but also earlier heterotopic ossification of the Achilles tendon compared with Mkx(-/-) mice. Analysis of tendon-derived cells (TDCs) revealed that Mkx deficiency accelerated chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation, whereas Mkx overexpression suppressed chondrogenic, osteogenic, and adipogenic differentiation. Furthermore, mechanical stretch stimulation of Mkx(-/-) TDCs led to chondrogenic differentiation, whereas the same stimulation in Mkx(+/+) TDCs led to formation of tenocytes. ChIP-seq of Mkx overexpressing TDCs revealed significant peaks in tenogenic-related genes, such as collagen type (Col)1a1 and Col3a1, and chondrogenic differentiation-related genes, such as SRY-box (Sox)5, Sox6, and Sox9 Our results demonstrate that Mkx has a dual role, including accelerating tendon differentiation and preventing chondrogenic/osteogenic differentiation. This molecular network of Mkx provides a basis for tendon physiology and tissue engineering.
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