Regulation of bone sialoprotein and osteopontin mRNA expression by dexamethasone and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D-3 in rat bone organ cultures

Bone sialoprotein (BSP) and osteopontin (OPN) are prominent components of the extracellular matrix of mineralized connective tissues that have been implicated in the formation and remodelling of bone. Although these proteins have similar biochemical properties and are expressed by bone cells during bone formation it has been suggested that they have different functions and that their expression is regulated independently by hormones and cytokines. The precise role of these proteins has, however, yet to be firmly established. Since steroid hormones strongly influence the formation of bone we have analyzed the effects of glucocorticoids and 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D-3 (1,25-(OH)(2)D-3) on the expression of BSP and OPN mRNAs in developing rat bone in vitro using in situ hybridization. In these studies it has been possible to identify the nature and spatial distribution of the cells that respond to these hormones by changes in sialoprotein expression. When cultured in the presence of the synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone (dex), expression of BSP was increased >5-fold in osteoblastic cells of the primary spongiosa in the tibial growth plate, in the mandibular bone and in calvarial bone. In addition, expression of BSP mRNA by hypertrophic cartilage cells in the was dramatically increased as were the number of responding cells indicating that glucocorticoids promote differentiation of hypertrophic cartilage cells as well as osteoblasts. Dexamethasone also stimulated a marked (>5-fold) increase in OPN expression by osteoblasts and cells lining endosteal and periosteal bone surfaces. In contrast to dex 1,25-(OH)(2)D-3 suppressed BSP expression in osteoblastic cells whereas OPN expression was strongly (>5-fold) stimulated in all three cultured bone tissues. Histological examination of the tissues showed that cell viability was retained over the culture period. However, in the presence of 1,25-(OH)(2)D-3 considerable resorption of the tissue was evident, with cement and reversal lines being prominent. The increased expression of BSP and OPN by dex is consistent with the stimulation of bone formation by glucocorticoids, whereas the differential effects of 1,25-(OH)(2)D-3 on BSP and OPN may reflect a stimulation of bone remodelling.