Endocrinology Vol. 142, No. 9 4131-4140
Copyright © 2001 by The Endocrine Society
Regulation of Chondrocyte Terminal Differentiation in the Postembryonic Growth Plate: The Role of the PTHrP-Indian Hedgehog Axis
Colin Farquharson,
David Jefferies,
Elaine Seawright and
Brian Houston
Bone Biology Group, Division of Integrative Biology, Roslin
Institute, Roslin, Scotland, United Kingdom EH25 9PS
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Colin Farquharson, Bone Biology Group, Division of Integrative Biology, Roslin Institute, Roslin, Scotland, United Kingdom EH25 9PS. E-mail: colin.farquharson{at}bbsrc.ac.uk
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Abstract
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Chondrocyte differentiation during embryonic bone growth is
controlled by interactions between PTHrP and Indian hedgehog. We have
now determined that the major components of this signaling pathway are
present in the postembryonic growth plate. PTHrP was immunolocalized
throughout the growth plate, and semiquantitative RT-PCR analysis of
maturationally distinct chondrocyte fractions indicated that PTHrP,
Indian hedgehog, and the PTH/PTHrP receptor were expressed at similar
levels throughout the growth plate. However, patched, the hedgehog
receptor, was more highly expressed in proliferating chondrocytes.
Although all fractionated cells responded to PTHrP in culture by
increasing thymidine incorporation and cAMP production and decreasing
alkaline phosphatase activity, the magnitude of response was greatest
in the proliferative chondrocytes. Bone morphogenetic proteins are
considered likely intermediates in PTHrP signaling. Expression of bone
morphogenetic protein-2 and 47 was detected within the growth plate,
and PTHrP inhibited the expression of bone morphogenetic protein-4 and
6. Although organ culture studies indicated a possible paracrine role
for epiphyseal chondrocyte-derived PTHrP in regulating growth plate
chondrocyte differentiation, the presence within the postembryonic
growth plate of functional components of the PTHrP-Indian hedgehog
pathway suggests that local mechanisms intrinsic to the growth plate
exist to control the rate of endochondral ossification.
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Introduction
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PTHrP WAS FIRST identified as the systemic
factor responsible for the elevated serum calcium levels that
contribute to the pathogenesis of humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy
(1). Subsequent studies, however, have shown that the
normal circulating concentration of PTHrP is very low, and it is
therefore unlikely that systemic PTHrP has a significant role in the
day to day maintenance of calcium homeostasis. The physiological roles
for PTHrP are now recognized to be numerous and complex, as recent data
have shown that PTHrP is expressed by a wide variety of embryonic and
adult tissues (2, 3). This suggests that during normal
cell growth and differentiation PTHrP functions mainly as an
autocrine/paracrine factor, acting through the common type I receptor
(PTHR) it shares with PTH (4). This local control of
cellular function extends to cells of the skeleton and in particular to
the growth plate chondrocytes that control the rate of longitudinal
bone growth. The growth plate can be separated into distinct
maturational zones containing resting, proliferative, terminally
differentiated, or mineralizing hypertrophic chondrocytes. Chondrocytes
remain in a spatially fixed location within the growth plate throughout
their life cycle, and their progression toward the terminally
differentiated phenotype is controlled by the actions of cytokines,
growth factors, hormones, and the extracellular matrix
(5).
A series of elegant gene knockout and overexpression experiments have
clearly shown that PTHrP together with the morphogen Indian hedgehog
(Ihh) and their respective receptors regulate chondrocyte terminal
differentiation in the early embryonic cartilage anlage in a highly
coordinated manner (6, 7). These researchers have proposed
a model for the molecular regulation of chondrocyte terminal
differentiation in embryonic tissue. In this model, Ihh is produced by
prehypertrophic chondrocytes committed to hypertrophy and acting
through its receptor patched (Ptc), which is expressed by cells in the
adjacent perichondrium, increases the expression of PTHrP in the
periarticular region. PTHrP then diffuses beyond the proliferating
cells, binds to the PTHR expressed on prehypertrophic chondrocytes,
i.e. before their conversion to Ihh-expressing cells, and
blocks their further differentiation. As the population of
committed cells progresses to the hypertrophic phenotype, they stop
expressing Ihh, thereby attenuating the negative feedback loop and
allowing the further differentiation of uncommitted prehypertrophic
cells. Further refinement of this model has indicated that bone
morphogenetic protein-6 (BMP-6) and Sox-4 are likely intermediates in
the PTHrP-Ihh regulatory feedback loop (8, 9).
The existence of the PTHrP-Ihh feedback loop regulating chondrocyte
hypertrophy is attractive in early embryonic tissue, where distances
over which PTHrP and Ihh must diffuse are relatively small. However,
given the much larger distances involved, the existence of such a
mechanism in the postembryonic growth plate has been questioned
(10). Immunocytochemical and in situ
hybridization studies indicate that PTHrP, Ihh, and their receptors are
expressed by chondrocytes of the chick, rat, and mouse postembryonic
growth plates (11, 12, 13, 14), suggesting that the components
involved in the PTHrP regulation of terminal differentiation are
intrinsic to the growth plate itself. In contrast, however, recent data
from in vitro studies using cocultures of chick epiphyseal
and growth plate chondrocytes support the concept that PTHrP is
produced by the epiphyseal chondrocytes, thereby limiting the rate of
growth plate chondrocyte terminal differentiation
(15).
The aims of this current study were, therefore, to clarify and provide
further information on the existence of the PTHrP-Ihh feedback loop in
regulating chondrocyte terminal differentiation in the postembryonic
chick growth plate. To this end we examined the spatial and temporal
expression patterns of PTHrP, PTHR, Ihh, Ptc, and BMPs in growth plate
sections and maturationally distinct chondrocyte fractions. In
addition, a series of in vitro chondrocyte and growth plate
explant studies provided functional data on the autocrine/paracrine
actions of PTHrP signaling. This multidisciplinary approach provides
new insights into the autocrine/paracrine control of chondrocyte
differentiation and endochondral ossification.
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Materials and Methods
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PTHrP immunocytochemistry
Growth plates from 3-wk-old male chicks were fixed in buffered
neutral formalin for 24 h and embedded in paraffin wax, without
decalcification, using standard procedures. Sections, 5 µm thick,
were cut, deparaffinized, rehydrated through graded alcohols, and
immunostained using antiserum to human PTHrP (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14), a
gift from Dr. Jane Moseley (University of Melbourne, Melbourne,
Australia). This antiserum cross reacts with chicken PTHrP as the amino
acid sequence of chick PTHrP-(114) and human PTHrP-(114) are 100%
identical. After protease treatment with 0.1% trypsin/0.1% calcium
chloride (w/w) in 20 mM Tris (pH 7.8) for 10 min, a
standard indirect immunoperoxidase protocol was used. In brief,
endogenous peroxidases were blocked with 1%
H2O2 in methanol followed
by overnight incubation at 4 C of a 1:1000 dilution of PTHrP antiserum.
After thorough washing in PBS the sections were incubated for 1 h
at room temperature in a 1:100 dilution of peroxidase-labeled goat
antirabbit IgG (DAKO Corp., Cambridgeshire, UK). All
antibody dilutions were made in PBS/5% FCS. Sections were then
incubated for 5 min in
diaminobenzidine/H2O2,
counterstained with hematoxylin, dehydrated, and mounted in DePeX. In
control sections the primary antibody was substituted for an
appropriate dilution of normal rabbit serum.
Chondrocyte isolation and Percoll fractionation
Growth plates from 3-wk-old male chicks were dissected free from
the proximal tibiotarsus and diced into 1-mm cubes. Chondrocytes were
isolated by incubating the tissue for 4 h at 37 C in 0.4%
collagenase, 0.2% hyaluronidase, and 0.01% deoxyribonuclease as
previously described (16, 17). Cell number was determined
using a hemocytometer, and 5060 x 106
cells were resuspended in 1 ml Mg2+- and
Ca2+-free PBS. Discontinuous Percoll gradients
were prepared, which consisted of six density gradient steps
(1.041.09 g/ml). The isolated cells were carefully layered onto each
gradient, centrifuged at 400 x g for 30 min, and the
cells in the resultant five fractions were harvested by aspiration
(16, 17). After washing, cell viability was assessed by
trypan blue staining and was greater than 95% in all fractions. The
cells were either used in culture experiments (see below) or pelleted
by centrifugation and stored at -70 C until required.
Functional analysis of PTHR in Percoll- fractionated
chondrocytes
Chondrocytes from each Percoll fraction were resuspended in DMEM
containing 10% FBS, plated in 24-well plates at a density of 200,000
cells/well, and maintained at 37 C under an atmosphere of 95% air/5%
CO2. After an overnight incubation to allow cell
attachment, PTHrP (10-8 M;
Bachem, Essex, UK) was added to the cells of each
fraction (in quadruplicate for each assay and treatment group), whereas
others received vehicle only. As ascorbic acid is required for
chondrocyte differentiation, but severely inhibits avian chondrocyte
proliferation, this vitamin (ascorbic acid-2-phosphate) was added (100
µmol/liter) to the medium of the differentiation experiments only.
After 24 h the medium was removed and stored at -70 C until
assayed for cAMP using RIA (IDS, Boldon, UK). The cells were assessed
for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, a recognized marker of
terminal differentiation, by measuring the cleavage of
p-nitrophenol phosphate at 410 nm. Total ALP activity was
expressed as nanomoles of p-nitrophenol phosphate hydrolyzed
per min/mg protein (16). For the determination of
chondrocyte proliferation, 0.2 µCi/ml
[3H]thymidine (37 MBq/ml; Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Little Chalfont, UK) was added for the last
18 h of culture, and the amount of radioactivity incorporated into
trichloroacetic acid-insoluble precipitates was measured
(16).
Responses of epiphyseal and growth plate chondrocytes to
PTHrP
Chondrocytes from both epiphyseal and growth plate cartilages
were isolated and plated in 24-well plates as described above. After an
overnight incubation to allow cell attachment, PTHrP
(10-610-10
M) or vehicle was added, in quadruplicate, to each cell
type for 24 h, and [3H]thymidine uptake
and cAMP concentration in conditioned medium were measured as
previously described. In separate experiments growth plate chondrocytes
were cultured at a density of 7.5 x 106/T75
culture flasks as previously described. After an overnight incubation,
PTHrP (10-8 M) was added and after
1, 6, and 24 h the medium was removed, and the flasks were stored
at -70 C for RNA extraction and RT-PCR analysis of BMP expression. In
some cases freshly isolated epiphyseal and growth plate chondrocytes
were frozen directly at -70 C for RNA extraction and RT-PCR analysis
of PTHrP and PTHR expression.
Cloning of chick PTHR
To obtain information about the sequence of chick PTHR, we used
RT-PCR to amplify a 360-bp cDNA from chick chondrocyte RNA using the
degenerate primers TTYGGNTGGGGNYCCNGC and
GGAGGATCCRAANARCATYTCRTARTGGAT. These correspond to the amino acid
motifs FGWGLPA and MHYEMLFN, which are conserved within the human, rat,
and opossum PTHR sequences. The cDNA fragment was cloned into the
T-vector pCRII to generate the clone pAH1. The predicted amino acid
sequence of the pAH1 insert had 85% identity to the human PTHR
sequence and 59% identity to the human PTHR2 sequence, confirming that
a fragment of the gene for the type 1 receptor had been cloned.
RNA extraction
Total RNA was extracted from chondrocytes by repeated aspiration
through a 25-gauge syringe needle in 1.5 ml Ultraspec (Biotecx,
Houston, TX). After extraction with chloroform, RNA in the aqueous
phase was precipitated with isopropanol and bound to RNA Tack resin
(Biotecx) following the manufacturers protocol. After washing with
75% ethanol, the RNA was eluted in 100 µl ribonuclease-free water
(17). In each case the 260/280 ratio was 1.92.0,
confirming the purity of the RNA. All preparations were diluted to a
concentration of 50 ng/µl and stored at -70 C.
Semiquantitative RT-PCR
Gene expression in the five Percoll fractions and PTHrP-treated
chondrocytes was analyzed by semiquantitative RT-PCR
(16, 17, 18). Aliquots of 500 ng RNA (or an equivalent volume
of water as a control) were reverse transcribed in 20-µl reactions
with 200 ng random hexamers and 200 U Superscript II reverse
transcriptase using the Superscript preamplification protocol
(Life Technologies, Inc., Paisley, UK). PCR was performed
in 20-µl reactions containing cDNA equivalent to 10 ng RNA and 200
nM gene-specific primers (Table 1
) in 11.1 x PCR buffer
(19). The cycling profile was 1 min at 92 C (first cycle,
2 min), 1 min at 55 C, and 1 min at 70 C. The number of cycles
performed was carefully titrated to ensure that the reactions were in
the exponential phase (Table 1
). Reaction products were analyzed on
1.5% agarose gels in the presence of ethidium bromide (250
µg/liter), and a digital image of each gel was captured using a gel
documentation system (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Hemel
Hempstead, UK).
Growth plate explant culture
Growth plates were dissected under sterile conditions from
3-wk-old chick tibiotarsi as previously described. The growth plates
were cut longitudinally into small cartilage segments measuring
approximately 2 mm wide and 0.51 mm thick and contained both
proliferating and hypertrophic chondrocytes (16). The
cartilage segments were placed on 0.4 µm culture plate inserts
(Millicell-CM, Millipore Corp., Watford, UK) and cultured
in 24-well plates in 0.5 ml DMEM containing 10% FBS, ascorbic acid
(100 µmol/liter), and gentamicin with or without PTHrP
(10-8 M) for 4 d. Ten
microliters of culture medium were added directly on top of the
segments, and the complete medium was changed on the second day
(16). At 0 and 4 d, explants were fixed in neutral
buffered formalin for 24 h and processed through to paraffin wax
as previously described. Wax sections (10 µm) were stained with
hematoxylin and eosin. In some experiments, the epiphyseal cartilage
was left attached to the underlying growth plate growth plate cartilage
and cultured, without exogenous PTHrP, for 4 d as described
above.
Statistical analysis
All in vitro cell culture experiments were performed
a minimum of three times, and although slight variations in absolute
values between individual experiments existed, the trends shown in the
representative figures were noted in all experimental repeats. All data
are expressed as the mean ± SEM (of four
observations within each experiment), and statistical analysis was
performed using t test. In the gene expression studies the
results shown are representative of the expression levels in two
separate PTHrP treatment experiments and four independent Percoll
fractionations.
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Results
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Immunocytochemistry
To determine the distribution of PTHrP-expressing chondrocytes
within the growth plate, an immunocytochemical study using
PTHrP-specific antiserum was carried out. Staining for PTHrP was
localized intracellularly within the chondrocytes of the growth plate
cartilage (Fig. 1A
). The
chondrocytes within the proliferating and hypertrophic zones of the
postembryonic growth plate all reacted positively (Figs. 1
, B and C),
with strongest staining observed in the terminally differentiated,
hypertrophic chondrocytes. The chondrocytes within the epiphyseal
cartilage juxtaposed to the underlying growth plate cartilage were also
strongly stained with the PTHrP antiserum (Fig. 1D
). No staining was
evident in control sections reacted in the absence of the primary
antibody (Fig. 1E
).

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Figure 1. PTHrP immunostaining of chick growth plate
chondrocytes. A, Low power micrograph showing positive staining of the
proliferating (P) and hypertrophic (H) chondrocytes. B and C, Higher
power micrographs showing strong clear cellular staining with the
chondrocytes of the proliferating (B) and hypertrophic (C) zones. D,
Strong staining within the chondrocytes (arrows) of the
epiphyseal cartilage juxtaposed to the underlying proliferating
chondrocytes (P) of the growth plate. E, Control section incubated with
normal rabbit serum showing no positive chondrocyte staining.
Magnification bar, 133 (A) and 66 (BE) µm.
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Gene expression levels in fractionated and PTHrP-treated growth
plate chondrocytes
To further examine the expression pattern of PTHrP, Ihh, Ptc,
PTHR, and BMPs, the growth plate chondrocytes were separated by Percoll
density centrifugation into different maturational phenotypes (Percoll
fractions 15). The five fractionated chondrocyte populations have
been characterized previously (17). As expected, cell
volume and ALP activity were inversely proportional to the density of
each fraction. Gene expression studies using specific primers for
collagen types II and X and extracellular fatty acid binding protein
(Ex-FABP) further indicated that chondrocyte fractions 1 and 2 were
enriched in hypertrophic chondrocytes, whereas fractions 4 and 5 were
enriched in proliferating chondrocytes. Fraction 3 contained
predominantly prehypertrophic cells. The expression patterns for
collagen type II and X and Ex-FABP were confirmed in the present study
(Fig. 2A
).

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Figure 2. Semiquantitative RT-PCR assays of the expression
of marker genes (A); PTHrP, Ihh, and their receptors (B); and BMPs (C)
in Percoll-fractionated growth plate chondrocytes. The results shown
are representative of four independent Percoll fractionations.
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PTHrP, Ihh, PTHR, and Ptc were all expressed within the growth plate
(Fig. 2B
). As assessed by semiquantitative analysis the levels of
expression of PTHrP, Ihh, and PTHR were similar in all Percoll
fractions, and no obvious expression trends with respect to the
chondrocyte maturational stage were noted in four independent Percoll
fractionations. However, the expression of Ptc was consistently lower
in hypertrophic chondrocytes (fractions 1 and 2) compared with
fractions 35. The levels of expression of BMP-2 and -7 were similar
in all chondrocyte fractions, whereas the expression of BMP-4, -5, and
-6 varied with the degree of chondrocyte differentiation (Fig. 2C
).
BMP-4 showed a biphasic response and was most abundantly expressed in
fractions 2 and 3. BMP-5 expression was highest in the proliferating
cells and decreased with chondrocyte differentiation, whereas BMP-6
expression was highest in the hypertrophic chondrocytes and lower in
the proliferating cells.
Treatment of cultured chondrocytes with PTHrP markedly down-regulated
the expression of BMP-4 and BMP-6. After 6 h, expression was lower
and was undetectable by 24 h posttreatment (Fig. 3A
). The levels of expression of BMP-2,
-5, and -7 were very low in cultured growth plate chondrocytes and were
not affected by PTHrP at the time points studied (data not shown).

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Figure 3. A, Semiquantitative RT-PCR assays of chondrocyte
BMP-4 and BMP-6 expression after 1-, 6-, and 24-h exposure to PTHrP
(10-8 M). B, Semiquantitative RT-PCR assays of
PTHrP and PTHR expression in growth plate and epiphyseal chondrocytes.
The results shown are representative of two separate analyses.
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Comparison of PTHrP and PTHR gene expression levels in
epiphyseal and growth plate chondrocytes
PTHrP expression was detected in freshly isolated whole growth
plate and epiphyseal chondrocytes, but the expression level in
epiphyseal chondrocytes was considerably higher (Fig. 3B
). In contrast,
PTHR expression was only detectable in chondrocytes of the whole growth
plate (Fig. 3B
).
Response of fractionated chondrocytes to PTHrP
The RT-PCR analysis indicated that the PTHR was expressed by all
growth plate chondrocytes (Fig. 2B
). However, although receptor mRNA
was observed, this was not sufficient to determine whether functional
receptors were present. Therefore, the response of each cell fraction
to exogenous PTHrP was assayed. PTHrP increased thymidine uptake and
cAMP production and decreased the ALP activity of all fractionated
chondrocytes, indicating the presence of functional cell surface
receptors for PTHrP on all growth plate chondrocytes (Fig. 4
). However, the magnitude of the effect
of PTHrP on proliferation, differentiation and cAMP production varied
with maturational phenotype. In general, the fold difference (Table 2
) between treated and control cultures
was less for the hypertrophic chondrocytes (fractions 1 and 2) than
those of a more proliferative phenotype (fractions 35). It is
possible that a proportion of the response within each fraction may be
due to a small number of contaminating cells in each fraction. This
would, however, not alter our conclusion that proliferative cells are
more responsive (with respect to thymidine uptake, ALP activity, and
cAMP production) than hypertrophic cells. For example, if the small
PTHrP response noted in fractions 1 and 2 was partly due to
contamination by proliferating chondrocytes, this would imply that the
hypertrophic cells, which are the principle cell in these fractions,
are even less responsive to PTHrP. The same argument holds for the gene
expression data shown in Fig. 2
.

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Figure 4. Effect of PTHrP (10-8 M)
on thymidine uptake (A), ALP activity (B), and cAMP production (C) of
Percoll-fractionated growth plate chondrocytes. Significantly different
from untreated control cultures: *, P < 0.05; ***,
P < 0.001.
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Table 2. Effect of PTHrP on cAMP production, ALP activity,
and thymidine uptake of cultured fractionated chondrocytes
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Responses of epiphyseal and growth plate chondrocytes to
PTHrP
As PTHrP expression was also noted in epiphyseal chondrocytes
(Figs. 1D
and 3B
), it was of interest to determine whether the response
of epiphyseal chondrocytes to PTHrP was similar to that of growth plate
chondrocytes. Experiments with monolayer cultures showed that PTHrP
significantly stimulated the thymidine uptake of growth plate
chondrocytes (P < 0.001) and their production of cAMP
(P < 0.001), whereas no significant effect of PTHrP
was observed on either parameter in epiphyseal chondrocytes (Fig. 5
). The effect of PTHrP on growth plate
chondrocytes was concentration dependent; thymidine uptake and cAMP
production were stimulated to similar levels by
10-6 and 10-8
M PTHrP, whereas the response to
10-10 M PTHrP was less for
both parameters (Fig. 5
).

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Figure 5. Effect of PTHrP
(10-610-10 M) on thymidine
uptake (A) and cAMP production (B) by growth plate or epiphyseal
chondrocytes. Significantly different from untreated control cultures:
***, P < 0.001.
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Growth plate explant cultures
The observation that epiphyseal chondrocytes expressed high levels
of PTHrP (Figs. 1D
and 2D
) but did not respond to exogenous PTHrP in
culture (Fig. 5
) suggested that the function of epiphyseal-derived
PTHrP may be to control the rate of growth plate chondrocyte
differentiation in a way similar to that proposed for embryonic
skeletal growth (7). This hypothesis was tested using a
growth plate explant system previously described by us
(16). In these explant studies the distinction between
proliferative and hypertrophic chondrocytes was based entirely on
morphology, as our previous explant studies have clearly indicated that
chondrocytes with a hypertrophic, but not a proliferative, morphology
synthesized a cartilaginous matrix rich in a collagen type X
(16). The area of growth plate taken for explant culture
contained the entire proliferating zone and the upper part of the
hypertrophic zone (d 0; Fig. 6A
). After
4 d in culture, the chondrocytes situated within the original
proliferating zone of the control explants were clearly hypertrophic
(Fig. 6B
), which is in accord with our previous observations
(16). However, chondrocytes from PTHrP-treated explants
maintained the flattened ellipsoid shape characteristic of
proliferating chondrocytes (Fig. 6C
). This strongly suggests that PTHrP
inhibits the terminal differentiation of chondrocytes. Explants that
had been cultured in medium containing PTHrP for 4 d and then
maintained for an additional 4 d in medium free of exogenous PTHrP
developed cells that had a hypertrophic phenotype (Fig. 6D
) and were
indistinguishable from those in Fig. 6B
. This indicates that the cells
within the explants were still viable after 4 d of PTHrP
treatment. In explants comprising both epiphyseal and growth plate
cartilage, a band of chondrocytes within the proximal region of the
growth plate and close to the junction with the epiphyseal cartilage
maintained their proliferative phenotype with no evidence of
chondrocyte hypertrophy (Fig. 6
, E and F). Cellular morphology was
remarkably similar to that of the PTHrP-treated explants (Fig. 6C
).

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Figure 6. Hematoxylin and eosin staining of growth plate
explant cultures. A, The growth plate taken for explant culture (d 0)
contained the entire proliferating zone (P) of chondrocytes that have a
characteristic flattened oblate morphology and the upper part of the
hypertrophic zone (H) containing large prolate cells. B, After 4 d
in culture all cells of the cartilage explant are hypertrophic. The
cells marked with an asterisk are the original
proliferating chondrocytes on d 0. C, In d 4 cultures, PTHrP
(10-8 M) completely inhibited the
development of the hypertrophic phenotype in the chondrocytes situated
in the original proliferating (P) zone. The original hypertrophic
chondrocytes (H) are clearly evident. D, PTHrP
(10-8 M)-containing medium was
replaced after 4 d and substituted with medium not containing
PTHrP for an additional 4 d. All cells were hypertrophic, and the
explants had morphology similar to those shown in B. E and F, Low (E)
and high (F) power micrographs of a 4-d-old culture in which the
epiphyseal cartilage was left attached to the growth plate
(arrow demarcates the junction between both cartilage
types). The chondrocytes situated in the original proliferating (P)
zone retain their proliferative phenotype and are similar in morphology
to the proliferative chondrocytes of d 0 control (A) and PTHrP-treated
(C) explants, but are in contrast to the morphology of the underlying
hypertrophic chondrocytes (H). Magnification bar, 133
(AD), 330 (E), and 133 (F) µm.
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Discussion
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The immunolocalization of PTHrP to all maturational zones of the
chick growth plate was confirmed by similar levels of PTHrP mRNA
expression in the Percoll-fractionated growth plate chondrocytes. This
distribution is in accord with observations in the postnatal mouse
growth plate where PTHrP protein and mRNA were uniformly expressed by
chondrocytes within the proliferative, prehypertrophic, and
hypertrophic zones (11). Similar findings have also been
reported in the rat where PTHrP mRNA and protein together with other
components of the regulatory loop were expressed in the postnatal
growth plate (14), although in this latter study PTHrP was
absent from the proliferating chondrocytes. Recent immunolocalization
studies have also demonstrated PTHrP expression predominantly localized
to the hypertrophic chondrocytes of the postembryonic chick growth
plate (13). In contrast, another study using a
ribonuclease protection assay indicated higher levels of mRNA
expression in proliferating chondrocytes and lower levels in
hypertrophic chondrocytes (15). Although differences in
the pattern of expression may exist between species, these localization
studies demonstrate that the expression of PTHrP within growth plate
chondrocytes is a general characteristic of the postembryonic growth
plate.
This observation is in contrast to the PTHrP distribution noted during
early embryonic endochondral bone formation in the mouse, rat, and
chick, where in situ hybridization studies have indicated
that PTHrP is principally located to the perichondrial cells closest to
the articular surfaces (periarticular region) and, with the exception
of faint staining in the hypertrophic cells of one study
(20), is essentially absent from the growth plate
(7, 20, 21, 22). These data suggest age-dependent differences
in PTHrP localization, although the apparent differences in the exact
cells that express PTHrP may result from studying various species of
different ages by a number of disparate techniques. PTHrP shares many
of the features common to members of the early response gene family
that are characterized by unstable and rapidly turned over mRNA
(23). This highlights the importance of the sensitivity of
the detection technique employed, and this is exemplified by the
results of the study by Medill et al. (13), who
found PTHrP to be expressed by proliferating chondrocytes using RT-PCR
(as in this present study), but not using immunocytochemistry. An
alternative explanation for the widespread distribution of PTHrP
protein within the postembryonic growth plate is that it localizes to
chondrocytes that express the PTHR rather than at sites where it is
synthesized. This argument has previously been used to explain the
discordant distribution of PTHrP (22) and also IGF
(24), nerve growth factor (25), and TGFß1
(26). However, we detected the expression of PTHrP mRNA
throughout the growth plate, and this provides direct evidence that
PTHrP is indeed produced by chondrocytes of all maturational
stages.
Regardless of the source of PTHrP in the growth plate, the specific
target cells for this ligand have not yet been unequivocally
identified. As PTHR expression is highest in the early differentiating
chondrocytes (6, 20), these cells have been regarded as
the target for PTHrP signaling (7). However, recent data
obtained from chimeric mice containing both wild-type and PTHR-negative
(-/-) cells, indicate that PTHrP acts directly on the low level of
PTHR present on proliferating cells (27) to delay and
synchronize their differentiation (28). This observation
would explain why proliferating chondrocytes are most noticeably
affected in PTHrP knockout (7) and PTHrP-overexpressing
mice (29). Our present data show that cells of all growth
plate fractions express PTHR and respond in culture to exogenous PTHrP.
This indicates that the PTHR is functional in all growth plate
maturational zones. Significantly, we found that PTHrP elicited the
greatest response in chondrocytes of a more proliferative phenotype
(fractions 35). This observation is consistent with the view that it
is these cells that are both the target of and principal responders to
PTHrP (28). It cannot be ruled out, however, that the
hypertrophic cells may elicit a greater response to PTHrP than the
proliferating chondrocytes in the synthesis and secretion of collagen,
proteoglycans, and other matrix molecules. This aspect of the response
to PTHrP requires further study.
The original in situ hybridization studies by Vortkamp and
colleagues (7) indicated that Ihh was expressed by
prehypertrophic chondrocytes in both embryonic and postembryonic chick
growth plates and that the perichondrium flanking the Ihh expression
domain was the location of the Ptc receptor (7). Recent
studies, however, failed to localize Ptc protein to the perichondrium
of postnatal rat bone (14), and other reports have now
shown Ptc expression by proliferating cells (27, 30). Our
observations that Ptc mRNA expression was higher in the proliferating
chondrocytes is in agreement with these data, and together they suggest
that Ihh acts directly on chondrocytes, and not via the perichondrium,
to regulate the pace of chondrocyte differentiation. A dual action of
Ihh on the chondrocyte differentiation process has been proposed
(31). The attachment of cholesterol moieties to the
C-terminus of the cleaved N-terminal fragment of Ihh (32)
results in both its tethering to the plasma membrane and sequestration
at the site of the Ptc receptor (33). The resultant
accumulation of hedgehog protein may lead, through short range and
PTHrP-independent effects, to promotion of the terminally
differentiated phenotype (31, 34, 35, 36). These
prodifferentiating actions of Ihh are in contrast to those elicited by
the long-range diffusion of Ihh and activation of the PTHrP signaling
pathway (31). Recent data indicated that Ihh also drives
chondrocyte proliferation in a pathway that is essentially independent
of PTHrP signaling (36), and therefore, it is likely that
not all actions of Ihh are mediated by PTHrP and result in delayed
chondrocyte differentiation. The above evidence suggests a more complex
control of chondrocyte differentiation by Ihh and PTHrP than previously
recognized. The precise contribution of each pathway to the
differential fate of growth plate chondrocytes remains to be
determined.
The mechanisms for relaying Ihh over many cell diameters to its target
cells are unclear (37). The lipophilic character of Ihh
presents special problems for long-range signaling, but clues to the
mechanisms involved have come from analysis of the
Drosophila gene, dispatched (disp)
(38). The disp protein is phylogenetically related to a
family of proteins containing a sterol-sensing domain and in
disp mutant cells, cholesterol-modified hedgehog protein is
retained within the cell, indicating that disp functions to
release cholesterol-tethered hh protein (38). As entries
with homology to disp exist in vertebrate EST databases
(37), similar mechanisms for Ihh mobilization are likely
to function in vertebrates. It is, however, unknown whether
disp and other proposed hedgehog- signaling pathways
(39) can propel Ihh over sufficient distances in the
embryonic cartilage anlage. As a consequence of the large increases in
size during vertebrate development, such problems will be exacerbated
in the postembryonic growth plate.
The importance of BMPs in endochondral ossification is unequivocal, and
various studies have localized BMP-1 to -7 to all maturational zones of
the growth plate (40, 41, 42). BMPs have been shown to promote
both chondrogenesis (43) and chondrocyte terminal
differentiation (44), and a blockade of BMP receptor
signaling results in the delayed differentiation of chick limb bud
cells (45). We observed distinct expression patterns of
the genes encoding BMPs. BMP-2 and -7 were expressed uniformly
throughout the growth plate, whereas BMP-5 was expressed most
abundantly in the proliferating chondrocytes. In agreement with earlier
workers we noted that BMP-6 expression is progressively up-regulated
during chondrocyte terminal differentiation (7).
Interestingly, we found that the expression of both BMP-4 and BMP-6 by
cultured growth plate chondrocytes was dramatically inhibited by PTHrP.
The rapidity of the response observed in the present study (within
6 h) and the absence of any increase in the expression of these
BMPs in control cultures argue that this is a direct effect and is not
secondary to the inhibition of chondrocyte differentiation by PTHrP. As
BMP-6 stimulates chondrocyte maturation and up-regulates the expression
of Ihh, Grimsrud and colleagues (8) proposed that the
inhibition of chondrocyte maturation by PTHrP is indirect and is
mediated by the suppression of BMP-6 expression.
As an alternative fate to terminal differentiation, postmitotic
chondrocytes can rapidly undergo apoptosis (46). BMP-4 has
been shown to be expressed in populations of apoptotic cells as well as
directly promoting apoptosis during embryonic pattern formation
(47). Our finding that BMP-4 expression was highest in the
prehypertrophic chondrocytes indicates that BMP-4 expression also
coincides with the onset of apoptosis within the growth plate
(46). PTHrP inhibits chondrocyte apoptosis as well as
terminal differentiation (48) and therefore the inhibition
of BMP-4 by PTHrP suggests a mechanism by which PTHrP could prevent
chondrocyte apoptosis. Thus, by inhibiting the expression of both BMP-4
and BMP-6, PTHrP may control the two developmental fates available to
postmitotic chondrocytes.
The infection of chick limb buds with a constitutively active form of
the BMP receptor 1A results in the stimulation of PTHrP expression and
the inhibition of chondrocyte differentiation (45).
Although this suggests that some BMPs may mediate the effects of Ihh in
regulating PTHrP expression, it is unlikely to be BMP-7, whose
inhibitory actions on terminal differentiation have been shown to be
independent of PTHrP expression (49). The results of our
study are in agreement with this conclusion, as PTHrP had no effect of
on BMP-7 expression in cultured chondrocytes.
In addition to positive PTHrP immunolocalization to growth plate
chondrocytes, we noted the presence of PTHrP in the epiphyseal
chondrocytes situated proximal to the growth plate. Analysis by RT-PCR
confirmed this expression pattern and further indicated that PTHrP mRNA
expression by epiphyseal chondrocytes was higher than that by growth
plate chondrocytes. Although this substantiates earlier data
(15), no evidence exists for an autocrine role for this
epiphyseal chondrocyte-derived PTHrP. Unlike their growth plate
counterparts, the epiphyseal chondrocytes showed no PTHR mRNA
expression and neither a cAMP nor a proliferative response to exogenous
PTHrP in culture. Alternatively, coculture experiments with both
chondrocyte types have supported the suggestion that PTHrP diffuses
from the epiphysis into the growth plate and acts in a paracrine manner
to regulate the rate of chondrocyte maturation (15). We
have confirmed and extended these results using an organ culture system
that more closely parallels the complex tissue interactions that occur
in the growing bone. These results are analogous to developmental
models in which PTHrP is expressed by chondrocytes in the periarticular
region of embryonic long bones and regulates the pace of growth plate
chondrocyte maturation (7). However to rule out the role
of other potential mitogens, further experimentation, possibly
involving PTHrP-neutralizing antibodies, will be needed to confirm that
PTHrP is indeed the paracrine factor central to this regulation.
The results of our study show that the known components of the
PTHrP-Ihh autoregulatory loop are all present within the postembryonic
chick growth plate and suggest that the long diffusion distances
required for the interaction of PTHrP and Ihh with their receptors
(7) may not be required for the control of chondrocyte
terminal differentiation. This situation, however, may not be so far
removed from the events that occur in the developing cartilage anlage.
It has recently been implied that both Ihh and PTHrP interact directly
with their receptors located on proliferating chondrocytes to control
the rate of chondrocyte differentiation (28, 30). It is
therefore likely that local mechanisms intrinsic to the growth plate
exist to control the rate of longitudinal bone growth, although a role
for epiphyseal chondrocyte-derived PTHrP in regulating proliferating
chondrocyte differentiation cannot be ruled out.
 |
Acknowledgments
|
|---|
The authors are grateful to Dr. Jane Mosely, St. Vincents
Hospital (Fitzroy, Australia), for the generous gift of PTHrP
antiserum. The authors also acknowledge Mr. Norrie Russell for artwork,
and Dr. Roland Leach, College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania
State University (State College, PA), for access to a preprint
of his unpublished manuscript.
 |
Footnotes
|
|---|
This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences
Research Council and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and
Food.
Abbreviations: ALP, Alkaline phosphatase; BMP, bone
morphogenetic protein; disp, dispatched; Ex-FABP,
extracellular fatty acid binding protein; Ihh, Indian hedgehog; Ptc,
patched; PTHR, PTH receptor.
Received February 15, 2001.
Accepted for publication May 24, 2001.
 |
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