Originally published as JHC exPRESS on June 27, 2005. doi:10.1369/jhc.5A6669.2005
Volume 53 (12): 1553-1562, 2005 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. Expression of Versican and ADAMTS1, 4, and 5 During Bone Development in the Rat Mandible and Hind Limb
Divisions of Oral Surgery (MN,SE), Craniofacial Development and Regeneration (MN,YS), Pediatric Dentistry (SS), and Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (IT), Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry, Sendai, Japan, and Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan (IM) Correspondence to: Yasuyuki Sasano, DDS, PhD, Division of Craniofacial Development and Regeneration, Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry, Sendai 980-8575, Japan. E-mail: sasano{at}anat.dent.tohoku.ac.jp
Extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling is achieved by both production and degradation of ECM molecules during bone development. ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 motifs) constitutes a family of extracellular proteases which are implicated in cleaving the protein versican. The present study was designed to investigate the expression of versican and ADAMTS1, 4, and 5 mRNA during bone development in rat mandibles and hind limbs by RT-PCR and in situ hybridization. Versican was localized by immunohistochemistry. The process of bone development from day 14 postcoitum through week 6 postnatum was divided into the beginning of osteogenesis, woven bone, and lamellar bone stages. Versican protein was abundant in the woven bone matrix, but decreased in the lamellar bone matrix. Versican mRNA was prominent in some osteoblasts with corresponding localization of the cognate protein. The temporal and spatial mRNA expression pattern of ADAMTS1, 4, and 5 was comparable to that of versican. These results suggest that woven bone rich in versican alters into lamellar bone containing little versican during bone development in both mandibles and hind limbs, where some osteoblasts may be involved in production as well as degradation of versican by secreting ADAMTS1, 4, and 5. (J Histochem Cytochem 53:15531562, 2005)
Key Words: versican ADAMTS bone development osteoblast extracellular matrix remodeling in situ hybridization immunohistochemistry RT-PCR
BONE DEVELOPMENT IS A DYNAMIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESS involving extensive remodeling of extracellular matrix (ECM), which eventually supports growth of the body. The ECM remodeling is achieved by both production and degradation of ECM molecules, and a large number of proteolytic enzymes are implicated in bone and cartilage development (Werb and Chin 1998
ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 motifs) is a family of extracellular proteases. It has a characteristic ADAM-like protease domain, a disintegrin-like and a cysteine-rich domain, and possess some thrombospondin type 1 motifs. To date, 20 members of the ADAMTS family have been identified. Unlike the ADAMs, these proteins lack transmembrane domains and are, therefore, secreted into the extracellular environment (Tang 2000
ADAMTS4 (aggrecanase-1) and ADAMTS5/11 (aggrecanase-2) are the proteases responsible for cleaving aggrecan, a major proteoglycan in the ECM of cartilage (Abbaszade et al. 1999
Aggrecan is most abundant in cartilage, whereas versican has a rather wide tissue distribution (Zako et al. 1995
Preparation of Tissue The principles of laboratory animal care (NIH publication no. 86-23, revised 1985) were followed, as were specific national laws. The preparation was performed according to animal protocols that were institutionally approved by Tohoku University. Wistar rat embryos 1420 days postcoitum (E14E20) and male Wistar rats 1, 3, and 6 weeks postnatum (W1, W3, and W6) were used. At least three embryos or postnatal animals at each stage were examined. Heads and hind limbs were resected from embryos and immediately fixed by immersion in a mixture of 4% paraformaldehyde and 0.5% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, at 4C overnight. The postnatal rats were anesthetized with 50 mg/ml sodium pentobarbital (0.1 ml/100 g of body weight) and perfused through the aorta with a mixture of 4% paraformaldehyde and 0.5% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. Mandibles were resected and kept in the same fixative overnight at 4C. The fixed specimens were decalcified in 10% EDTA in 0.01 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, for 16 weeks at 4C. The EDTA solution was autoclaved before use. After dehydration through a graded series of ethanol solutions, the tissues were embedded in paraffin. Serial sections 5 µm thick were cut and the adjacent sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin or processed for in situ hybridization or immunohistochemistry.
RT-PCR
After amplification, equal amounts of PCR products were size-separated by electrophoresis through a 3.0% agarose gel and visualized by ethidium bromide staining and ultraviolet transillumination. All samples were amplified at least twice on different occasions to control for any variations in the PCR technique. Images of the stained gels were captured using the Electrophoresis Documentation and Analysis System (Kodak; Rochester, NY).
Preparation of Riboprobes
Fragments encoding rat versican (4231039 bp: GenBank AF072892), rat ADAMTS1 (76520 bp: GenBank NM024400), rat ADAMTS4 (6251226 bp: GenBank XM237904), and rat ADAMTS5 (15482305 bp: GenBank NM198761) were obtained from the total RNA of embryonic rat limbs using RT-PCR and subcloned into the plasmid pCRIITOPO (Invitrogen). Oligonucleotide primers used for the RT-PCR are shown in Table 1. The identities of the cDNAs were verified by digestion with restriction enzymes and confirmed by dideoxynucleotide sequencing. Riboprobes were generated as indicated in Table 2. An 818-bp fragment (2231040 bp: GenBank AF062402) encoding rat versican was obtained from total RNA of rat brain, and a fragment encording rat pro-
In Situ Hybridization The protocol used in the present study has been reported elsewhere (Zhu et al. 2001 The sections were deparaffinized and washed in PBS, pH 7.4, and then immersed in 0.2 N HCl for 20 min. After being washed in PBS, the sections were incubated in proteinase K (20 g/ml; Roche) in PBS for 30 min at 37C. The sections were then dipped in 100% ethanol and dried in air and incubated with the antisense probe or the sense control probe (400 ng/ml) in a hybridization mixture for 16 hr at 45C. The sections were washed and treated with RNase (Type 1a, 20 µg/ml; Sigma, St Louis, MO) for 30 min at 37C. After washing, the hybridized probes were detected immunologically using the Nucleic Acid Detection Kit (Roche), counterstained with methyl green, and mounted with a mounting medium. At least two sections from each of five embryos or three postnatal animals at each stage were examined using the same probe. The intensity of hybridization signals was evaluated by observing at least three fields of every section.
Immunohistochemistry The sections were deparaffinized and immersed in 3.0% hydrogen peroxide in absolute methanol for 10 min at room temperature.
After being washed in PBS containing 0.025% Triton X-100 (PBS-TX), the sections were incubated with the monoclonal mouse antibody against a large chondroitin-sulfate proteoglycan from bovine sclera (5D5) for 2 hr at room temperature. The antibody 5D5 was a generous gift of Dr. Firoz Rahemtulla, Department of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, University of Alabama. The antibody recognizes the core protein of versican from sclera, tendon, aorta, and periodontium, but does not react with aggrecan (Bratt et al. 1992 After being washed in PBS-TX, the sections were incubated in Histofine Simple Stain rat MAX-PO (MULTI) (NICHIREI Co.; Tokyo, Japan) for 30 min at room temperature. The sections were washed and immunoreactivity was visualized by immersion in Histofine Simple Stain DAB (3, 3'- diaminobenzidine) solution (NICHIREI Co.) for 5 min at room temperature. The sections were counterstained with methyl green and mounted with a mounting medium. Control sections were processed as described previously, except that preimmune NGS-PBS-TX was used as a substitute for the specific antibody.
Identification of Versican and ADAMTSs RT-PCR demonstrated that the versican and ADAMTS1, 4, and 5 genes are expressed in developing mandibles and hind limbs (Figure 1).
Expression Pattern of Versican and ADAMTSs The process of bone development was categorized into the following three stages: the beginning of osteogenesis, the formation of woven bone, and the formation of lamellar bone. The mRNA expression of pro- 1 (I) collagen (COL1) (Figure 2F, Figure 3D, Figure 4C, Figure 5D, Figure 6D, Figure 7C, Figure 8D, and Figure 9D) was used to identify the phenotype of osteoblasts as described previously (Zhu et al. 2001
Beginning of Osteogenesis Mandibles Mesenchymal cell condensate in the putative osteogenic region expressed versican mRNA and protein at E14 (data not shown). The expression of versican mRNA was not detected in cuboidal osteoblasts lining osteoid at E15, whereas mesenchymal cells surrounding the cuboidal osteoblasts express versican diffusely (Figure 2A). Versican protein was localized within osteoid (Figure 2C). The expression of ADAMTS1, 4 (Figure 2D), and 5 mRNAs was identified in mesenchymal cells diffusely surrounding the cuboidal osteoblasts but not in the osteoblasts themselves.
Hind Limbs
Woven Bone
Hind Limb
Lamellar Bone
Mandibles The versican immunoreactivity was localized in the periosteum and, very weakly, in the bone matrix. The protein was hardly detectable in the endosteum (Figure 7B).
Hind Limbs The versican immunoreactivity was localized in the periosteum and very weakly in the bone matrix. The protein was hardly detectable in the endosteum (Figure 8B).
Periodontal Ligaments
Controls
The present study described the expression of versican and ADAMTS1, 4, and 5 during a long span of bone development (i.e., from embryonic 14 days to 6 weeks postnatum). Our results support a recent study that reported that cultured osteoblasts express ADAMTS1, 4, and 5, and ADAMTS1 protein is localized to regions associated with osteogenesis in postnatal rat hind limbs (Lind et al. 2005
We found that the mRNA expression patterns of ADAMTS1, 4, and 5 were comparable to one another during bone development. It has been reported that the ability of ADAMTS4 to cleave aggrecan is higher than that of ADAMTS5 (Tortorella et al. 2002
In this study, we divided the process of bone development into three stages: the beginning of osteogenesis, the formation of woven bone and the formation of lamellar bone. Immunoreactivity for versican in the bone matrix was intense at the stage of woven bone, and subsequently became weaker at the stage of lamellar bone. These findings suggest that extensive remodeling of the ECM occurs in the formation of lamellar bone from woven bone, including a decrease in versican levels during bone development. In addition, the present study has shown that versican may be one of the most characteristic ECM molecules that distinguish woven bone from lamellar bone, because woven bone has been indicated to contain more proteoglycan than lamellar bone (Ross et al. 2003
The expression of the versican protein corresponded to the expression of versican mRNA in osteoblasts, except in osteoid in mandibles, in the endosteum, and in the periosteum of lamellar bone in both mandibles and hind limbs. In E15 mandibles, versican proteins were localized within osteoid, whereas versican mRNA was not detected in osteoblasts lining osteoid, but was present mesenchymal cells surrounding the osteoblasts. In E14 mandibles, versican mRNA and protein were detected in the mesenchymal cell condensate in a putative osteogenic region (Hall and Miyake 2000
We examined the process of bone development in both mandibles and hind limbs. There were distinct differences between mandibles and hind limbs in the beginning stage of osteogenesis. The intramembranous ossification of the mandible may be characterized by formation of osteoid rich in versican, whereas the endochondral ossification of the hind limbs may be characterized by little osteoid, where osteoid matures into bone immediately after it is deposited on the surface of calcified cartilage (Sasano et al. 2000
Osteoblasts are generally considered to be cuboidal in shape, whereas we demonstrated that flat osteoblasts producing COL1 express versican and ADAMTS1, 4, and 5. Previous studies showed that these flat osteoblasts express bone sialoprotein, osteopontin (Zhu et al. 2001 It is not known whether cuboidal and flat osteoblasts are the same cells and change their morphological characteristics depending on functional requirements. Alternatively, they may be distinct phenotypes of osteoblasts and have different assignments in bone formation and degradation. Further studies will be required to clarify the functional significance of these cuboidal and flat osteoblasts. Based on the present results, we propose the following. Versican is expressed before differentiation of osteoblasts and is localized in osteoid during intramembranous ossification. In endochondral ossification, versican is expressed in periosteal cells overlying the active osteogenic region on the surface of calcified cartilage. Thereafter, bones undergoing either type of ossification proceed with the common sequential process of bone development. The bone matrix expands and woven bone rich in versican is formed. Versican expression in the bone matrix is decreased as woven bone is altered into lamellar bone, where ADAMTS1, 4, and 5 are involved. Osteoblasts may be involved in both production and degradation of versican by secreting ADAMTSs. Further investigation of versican and ADAMTSs may provide a better understanding of remodeling of the extracellular matrix during bone development.
This work was supported in part by grants-in-aid (15390550, 16500285) from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan. We wish to thank Mr. Masami Eguchi and Mr. Yasuto Mikami, Division of Craniofacial Development and Regeneration, Tohoku University Graduate School of Dentistry, for their excellent assistance in this study. We also wish to thank Dr. Firoz Rahemtulla, Department of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, University of Alabama, for generously providing the antibody. We would like to thank Dr. Paul Kretchmer for reviewing this manuscript.
Received for publication February 28, 2005; accepted June 1, 2005
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