[HTML][HTML] NOTCH signaling in skeletal progenitors is critical for fracture repair

C Wang, JA Inzana, AJ Mirando, Y Ren… - The Journal of …, 2016 - Am Soc Clin Investig
The Journal of clinical investigation, 2016Am Soc Clin Investig
Fracture nonunions develop in 10%–20% of patients with fractures, resulting in prolonged
disability. Current data suggest that bone union during fracture repair is achieved via
proliferation and differentiation of skeletal progenitors within periosteal and soft tissues
surrounding bone, while bone marrow stromal/stem cells (BMSCs) and other skeletal
progenitors may also contribute. The NOTCH signaling pathway is a critical maintenance
factor for BMSCs during skeletal development, although the precise role for NOTCH and the …
Fracture nonunions develop in 10%–20% of patients with fractures, resulting in prolonged disability. Current data suggest that bone union during fracture repair is achieved via proliferation and differentiation of skeletal progenitors within periosteal and soft tissues surrounding bone, while bone marrow stromal/stem cells (BMSCs) and other skeletal progenitors may also contribute. The NOTCH signaling pathway is a critical maintenance factor for BMSCs during skeletal development, although the precise role for NOTCH and the requisite nature of BMSCs following fracture is unknown. Here, we evaluated whether NOTCH and/or BMSCs are required for fracture repair by performing nonstabilized and stabilized fractures on NOTCH-deficient mice with targeted deletion of RBPjk in skeletal progenitors, maturing osteoblasts, and committed chondrocytes. We determined that removal of NOTCH signaling in BMSCs and subsequent depletion of this population result in fracture nonunion, as the fracture repair process was normal in animals harboring either osteoblast- or chondrocyte-specific deletion of RBPjk. Together, this work provides a genetic model of a fracture nonunion and demonstrates the requirement for NOTCH and BMSCs in fracture repair, irrespective of fracture stability and vascularity.
The Journal of Clinical Investigation