Department of Orthopedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, 200030, Shanghai, China.
Nat Commun. 2018 Feb 7;9(1):551. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02988-5.
Acquired heterotopic ossification (HO) is a painful and debilitating disease characterized by extraskeletal bone formation after injury. The exact pathogenesis of HO remains unknown. Here we show that TGF-β initiates and promotes HO in mice. We find that calcified cartilage and newly formed bone resorb osteoclasts after onset of HO, which leads to high levels of active TGF-β that recruit mesenchymal stromal/progenitor cells (MSPCs) in the HO microenvironment. Transgenic expression of active TGF-β in tendon induces spontaneous HO, whereas systemic injection of a TGF-β neutralizing antibody attenuates ectopic bone formation in traumatic and BMP-induced mouse HO models, and in a fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive mouse model. Moreover, inducible knockout of the TGF-β type II receptor in MSPCs inhibits HO progression in HO mouse models. Our study points toward elevated levels of active TGF-β as inducers and promoters of ectopic bone formation, and suggest that TGF-β might be a therapeutic target in HO.
获得性异位骨化 (HO) 是一种痛苦且使人虚弱的疾病,其特征是受伤后骨骼外形成骨。HO 的确切发病机制尚不清楚。在这里,我们显示 TGF-β 在小鼠中引发和促进 HO。我们发现 HO 发病后钙化软骨和新形成的骨会吸收破骨细胞,导致高水平的活性 TGF-β募集 HO 微环境中的间充质基质/祖细胞 (MSPC)。腱中的活性 TGF-β的转基因表达会自发诱导 HO,而全身性注射 TGF-β 中和抗体可减弱创伤性和 BMP 诱导的小鼠 HO 模型以及纤维性骨发育不良进展性小鼠模型中的异位骨形成。此外,MSPC 中 TGF-β 型 II 受体的诱导性敲除可抑制 HO 小鼠模型中的 HO 进展。我们的研究表明,高水平的活性 TGF-β 可作为异位骨形成的诱导剂和促进剂,并且表明 TGF-β 可能是 HO 的治疗靶点。