Response of human osteoblast-like cells to fluid flow shear: A potential role for the microtubule network and primary ciliums

Abstract

Introduction: A limited understanding of the cellular mechanisms governing bone mechanotransduction has inhibited the development of clinical treatments for a variety of bone disorders, including osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and microgravity-associated bone atrophy. The cytoskeleton is thought to play a role in cellular mechanotransduction, however the exact mechanism in bone cells has not yet been clearly elucidated. Studies involving cytoskeletal inhibitors have not generally considered secondary effects on cellular organelles such as the primary cilia. These cellular projections could account for the disparity between shear stresses predicted to occur in vivo and the minimum threshold of membrane deformation required to elicit a cellular response in vitro.
 Methods: MG-63 (human osteoblast-like) cells were cultured in vitro. Cultures were exposed to intermittent cyclic fluid flow shear stress (1 Pa amplitude), for 8 or 12 hrs. Some cultures were loaded in the presence of nocodazole (a microtubule inhibitor) or cytochalasin D (an actin filament inhibitor). The cellular response was analyzed through RT-PCR assessment of messenger RNA levels for specific molecules related to matrix metabolism. The effects of drug treatments on cytoskeletal disorganization and the primary cilia were assessed with immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy.
 Results: In untreated cultures, shear stress was associated with significant increases in mRNA levels for collagen I and matrix metalloproteinases 1 and 3, for both time points assessed. These increases were maintained in cultures loaded in the presence of cytochalasin D, but were almost completely abrogated in nocodazole-treated cultures. Cytoskeletal inhibitors exerted some dose-dependent effects on length and structure of primary cilia in MG-63 cells.
 Conclusions: The microtubule network appears to be necessary for some shear-induced responses of osteoblast-like cells. MG-63 cells possess primary cilia, organelles that could amplify fluid flow shear, accounting for some apparent contradictions between studies related to osteoblast mechanosensitivity. Since these structures are composed of microtubules, the observation that microtubule disruptors inhibit the shear response of osteoblast-like cells suggests the primary cilium may have a role in osteoblast mechanotransduction. The effects of cytoskeletal inhibitors on cilium structure may explain the conflicting results of earlier mechanotransduction studies.