Ghrelin Increases Beta-Catenin Level through Protein Kinase A Activation and Regulates OPG Expression in Rat Primary Osteoblasts

Abstract EN

Ghrelin, by binding growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R), promotes osteoblast proliferation but the signaling mechanism of GHS-R on these cells remains unclear.

Since canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway is critically associated with bone homeostasis, we investigated its involvement in mediating ghrelin effects in osteoblasts and in osteoblast-osteoclast cross talk.

Ghrelin (10−10M) significantly increased β-catenin levels in rat osteoblasts (rOB).

This stimulatory action on β-catenin involves a specific interaction with GHS-R1a, as it is prevented by the selective GHS-R1a antagonist, D-Lys3-GHRP-6 (10−7M).

The effect of ghrelin on β-catenin involves the phosphorylation and inactivation of GSK-3β via protein kinase A (PKA).

Inhibition of PKA activity reduces the facilitatory action of ghrelin on β-catenin stabilization.

Ghrelin treatment of rOB significantly increases the expression of osteoprotegerin (OPG), which plays an important role in the regulation of osteoclastogenesis, and this effect is blocked by D-Lys3-GHRP-6.

Furthermore, ghrelin reduced RANKL/OPG ratio thus contrasting osteoclastogenesis.

Accordingly, conditioned media from rOB treated with ghrelin decreased the number of multinucleated TRAcP+ cells as compared with the conditioned media from untreated-control rOB.

Our data suggest new roles for ghrelin in modulating bone homeostasis via a specific interaction with GHSR-1a in osteoblasts with subsequent enhancement of both β-catenin levels and OPG expression.