PLX187240

GSE154748: The osteocyte transcriptome is extensively dysregulated in mouse models of Osteogenesis Imperfecta

• Organsim mouse
• Type RNASEQ
• Target gene
• Project ARCHS4

Osteocytes are long-lived, highly interconnected, terminally differentiated osteoblasts which reside within mineralized bone matrix. They constitute about 95% of adult bone cells and play important functions in the regulation of bone remodeling, phosphate homeostasis, and mechanical stimuli sensing and response. However, the role of osteocytes in the pathogenesis of congenital diseases of bone such as osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is poorly understood. This study characterized in vivo transcriptional changes in osteocytes from the CrtapKO and oim/oim mouse models of OI, using RNA-sequencing on osteocyte-enriched cortical bone from femur and tibia. These models were chosen because they mimic two types of OI with different genetic mutations which result in distinct type I collagen defects. Hundreds of transcripts were dysregulated in either model of OI compared to WT, but 281 of these were similarly up- or down-regulated in both. Conversely, very few transcripts were differentially expressed between the CrtapKO and oim/oim mice, indicating that distinct alterations in type I collagen can lead to shared pathogenic processes and similar phenotypic outcomes. Bioinformatics analyses identified several critical hubs of dysregulation that were enriched in annotation terms such as development and differentiation, ECM and collagen fibril organization, cell adhesion, signaling, regulatory processes, pattern binding, chemotaxis, and cell projections. The data further indicated alterations in important signaling pathways such as WNT and TGF-. Overall, our study suggested that the osteocyte transcriptome is broadly dysregulated in OI, that transcriptomic alterations in OI can be strikingly similar despite arising from different genetic mutations, and that the potential consequences of osteocyte dysregulation deserve further investigation. SOURCE: Roy Morello (rmorello@uams.edu) - University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences