Journal Article

RNAseq and RNA molecular barcoding reveal differential gene expression in cortical bone following hindlimb unloading in female mice

Ko, Frank C., Spatz, Jordan M., Ayturk, Ugur M., Warman, Matthew L., Bouxsein, Mary L.

2021

Overview

Disuse-induced bone loss is seen following spinal cord injury, prolonged bed rest, and exposure to microgravity. We performed whole transcriptomic profiling of cortical bone using RNA sequencing (RNAseq) and RNA molecular barcoding (NanoString) on a hindlimb unloading (HLU) mouse model to identify genes whose mRNA transcript abundances change in response to disuse. Eleven-week old female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to ambulatory loading or HLU for 7 days (n = 8/group). Total RNA from marrow-flushed femoral cortical bone was analyzed on HiSeq and NanoString platforms. The expression of several previously reported genes associated with Wnt signaling and metabolism was altered by HLU. Furthermore, the increased abundance of transcripts, such as Pfkfb3 and Mss51, after HLU imply these genes also have roles in the cortical bone’s response to altered mechanical loading. Our study demonstrates that an unbiased approach to assess the whole transcriptomic profile of cortical bone can reveal previously unidentified mechanosensitive genes and may eventually lead to novel targets to prevent disuse-induced osteoporosis.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Analysis / Animals / Bar codes / Bed rest / Biology and life sciences / Biomedical materials / Bone Density - genetics / Bone loss / Bone marrow / Care and treatment / Cell cycle / Compact bone / Cortical bone / Cortical Bone - physiology / Diagnosis / Female / Femur - physiology / Gene expression / Gene Expression - genetics / Gene sequencing / Genes / Hindlimb Suspension - physiology / Hypotheses / Immobilization / Mechanical loading / Mechanical unloading / Medical schools / Medicine and Health Sciences / Metabolism / Mice / Mice, Inbred C57BL / Microgravity / Orthopedics / Osteoporosis / Osteoporosis - genetics / Prevention / Research and analysis methods / Ribonucleic acid / Risk factors / RNA / RNA - genetics / RNA sequencing / Rodents / Sequence Analysis, RNA - methods / Spinal cord / Spinal cord injuries / Spinal cord injury / Spinal injuries / Structure / Transcription / Transcriptomics / Unloading / Weightlessness / Wnt protein / X-Ray Microtomography - methods