Functional and transcriptomic analysis of the regulation of osteoblasts by mechano-growth factor E peptide

Mechano-growth factor (MGF), a splice variant of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), was discovered by Goldspink and colleagues in 1996; since then many studies have implicated MGF as an important local tissue repair factor. Although the short 24-amino-acid C-terminal peptide of MGF (MGF-Ct24E) has a variety of biological activities, its role in bone formation has not yet been clarified. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of MGF-Ct24E in the proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization of rat calvarial osteoblasts. Interestingly, although MGF-Ct24E significantly increased the proliferation and retarded the differentiation of osteoblasts during the first 3 days, prolonged treatment with MGF-Ct24E for up to 3 weeks promoted cell differentiation. To determine the molecular mechanisms behind this plurality, we carried out global transcriptional profiling of osteoblasts in response to MGF-Ct24E and identified differentially expressed genes by bioinformatics analysis. Gene ontology analysis indicated that MGF-Ct24E enhanced the expression of genes associated with osteoblast proliferation and the cell cycle and downregulated genes involved with osteoblast differentiation, skeletal system, and bone development. Moreover, KEGG pathway-based analysis indicated that MGF-Ct24E directly altered focal adhesion and cell cycle progression, in addition to regulating the actin cytoskeleton and gap junctions. In conclusion, MGF-Ct24E has a marked ability to increase bone formation by increasing cell proliferation and delaying cell differentiation during prophase, as well as by stimulating osteoblast differentiation during the advanced stage. The mechanism of action of MGF-Ct24E during the initial stages of bone formation in vitro involves upregulation of the expression of genes involved in proliferation and cell cycle progression, and the repression of differentiation-related genes.