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Transforming growth factor-β prevents osteoblast apoptosis induced by skeletal unloading via PI3K/Akt, Bcl-2, and phospho-Bad signaling

¹Unit 606 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale; ²University Paris 7, Paris; and ³Department of Integrated Physiology, Institut de Médecine Aérospatiale du Service de Santé des Armées, Brétigny-sur-Orge, France

Submitted 20 December 2007 ; accepted in final form 16 February 2008

Loss of mechanical loading induces rapid bone loss resulting from reduced osteoblastogenesis and decreased bone formation. The signaling mechanisms involved in this deleterious effect on skeletal metabolism remain poorly understood. We have previously shown that hindlimb suspension in rats increases osteoblast apoptosis associated with decreased phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling. In this study, we investigated whether transforming growth factor (TGF)-β2 may prevent the altered signaling and osteoblast apoptosis induced by skeletal unloading in vivo. Hindlimb suspension-induced decreased bone volume was associated with reduced ₅β₁-integrin protein levels and PI3K/Akt signaling in unloaded bone. Continuous administration of TGF-β2 using osmotic minipumps prevented the decreased ₅β₁-integrin expression and the reduced PI3K/Akt signaling in unloaded bone, resulting in the prevention of osteoblast apoptosis. We also show that TGF-β2 prevented the decreased Bcl-2 levels induced by unloading, which suggests that TGF-β2 targets Bcl-2 via PI3K/Akt to prevent osteoblast apoptosis in unloaded bone. Furthermore, we show that TGF-β2 prevented the decrease in phosphorylated Bad, the inactive form of the proapoptotic protein Bad, induced by unloading. These results identify a protective role for TGF-β2 in osteoblast apoptosis induced by mechanical unloading via the ₅β₁/PI3K/Akt signaling cascade and downstream Bcl-2 and phospho-Bad survival proteins. We thus propose a novel role for TGF-β2 in protection from unloading-induced apoptosis in vivo.

phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; bone loss; integrin; rat