Temporal expression of pdgf receptors and pdgf regulatory effects on fetal rat calvarial osteoblastic cells in long-term mineralizing cultures. Yu, Xiaohui, Sung-Chih Hsieh, Wei Bao, and Dana T. Graves. Department of Periodontology and Oral Biology, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
APStracts 3:0394C, 1996.
PDGF is mitogenic and chemotactic for osteoblastic cells in vitro. It is expressed during osseous wound healing and stimulates formation of new bone in vivo. PDGF stimulates cells by binding to specific cell surface receptors. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of PDGF on osteoblastic proliferation and differentiation in long term mineralizing cultures. Utilizing Northern blot analysis, we found that continuous PDGF treatment increased histone expression, indicative of enhanced proliferation, but suppressed osteoblast differentiation, demonstrated by inhibition of alkaline phosphatase, type I collagen and osteocalcin expression. The inhibitory effect of PDGF on the differentiated function of osteoblasts was further established by findings that P PDGF significantly inhibited nodule formation. The expression of PDGF receptors varied at different stages of culture. PDGF receptor mRNA expression increased when the cells had achieved a mature phenotype, during the stage of matrix maturation, then decreased. However, as demonstrated by thymidine incorporation assays, the capacity of PDGF to stimulate DNA synthesis actually decreased during osteoblast maturation, as receptor expression increased. To investigate this apparent contradiction, tyrosyl phosphorylation was determined by immunoblot assays to assess changes in PDGF activation of their cognate receptors. The pattern of PDGF-induced tyrosyl phosphorylation remained relatively constant. This suggests suggesting that the diminished mitogenic activity of response to PDGF that occurs following osteoblast differentiation occurs is regulated at a post-receptor level.

Received 23 September 1996; accepted in final form 4 December
1996.
APS Manuscript Number C550-6.
Article publication pending Am. J. Physiol. (Cell Physiology).
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1996 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on 31 December 1996