The role of magnesium ions in bone regeneration involves the canonical Wnt signaling pathway

摘要

Magnesium (Mg)-based implants have become of interest to both academia and the medical industry. The attraction largely is due to Mg's biodegradability and ability to enhance bone healing and formation. However, the underlying mechanism of how Mg regulates osteogenesis is still unclear. Based on our previous in vivo and molecular signaling work demonstrating the osteogenic effect of Mg, the current study aims to extend this work at the molecular level especially that we also observed and quantified mineral deposits in the bone marrow space in a rabbit ulna fracture model with Mg plates and screws. Histological analysis and quantitative results of micro-CT showed mineralized deposition and a significant increase in bone volume at 8 weeks and 16 weeks post-operative. These in vivo results led us to focus on studying the effect of Mg2+ on human bone marrow stromal cells (hBMSCs). The data presented in this manuscript demonstrate the activation of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway in hBMSCs when treated with 10 mM Mg2+. With additional Mg2+ present, the protein expression of active beta-catenin was significantly increased to a level similar to that of the positive control. Immunocytochemistry and the increased expression of LEF1 and Dkkl, downstream target genes that are controlled directly by active beta-catenin, demonstrated the protein translocation and the activation of transcription. Taken together, these data suggest that Mg2+ induces an osteogenic effect in the bone marrow space by activating the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, which in turn causes BMSCs to differentiate toward the osteoblast lineage.