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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Chondrogenic Differentiation Induction of Adipose-derived Stem Cells by Centrifugal Gravity
Published on: February 24, 2017
Transcriptional coactivator PGC-1alpha regulates chondrogenesis via association with Sox9
Yasuhiko Kawakami1, Masanao Tsuda, Shigeru Takahashi
1Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Abstract:
Chondrogenesis is a multistep pathway in which multipotential mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) differentiate into chondrocytes. The transcription factor Sox9 (SRY-related high mobility group-Box gene 9) regulates chondrocyte differentiation and cartilage-specific expression of genes, such as Col2a1 (collagen type II alpha1). However, Sox9 expression is detected not only in chondrogenic tissue but also in nonchondrogenic tissues, suggesting the existence of a molecular partner(s) required for Sox9 to control chondrogenesis and chondrogenic gene expression. Here, we report identification of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma co-activator 1alpha (PGC-1alpha) as a coactivator for Sox9 during chondrogenesis. Expression of PGC-1alpha is induced at chondrogenesis sites during mouse embryonic limb development and during chondrogenesis in human MSC cultures. PGC-1alpha directly interacts with Sox9 and promotes Sox9-dependent transcriptional activity, suggesting that PGC-1alpha acts as a transcriptional coactivator for Sox9. Consistent with this finding, PGC-1alpha disruption in MSC by small interfering RNA inhibits Col2a1 expression during chondrogenesis. Furthermore, overexpression of both PGC-1alpha and Sox9 induced expression of chondrogenic genes, including Col2a1, followed by chondrogenesis in the MSC and developing chick limb. Together, our results suggest a transcriptional mechanism for chondrogenesis that is coordinated by PGC-1alpha.
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