Fibroblast growth factor 23-mediated regulation of osteoporosis: Assessed via Mendelian randomization and in vitro...

Despite numerous investigations on the influence of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), α-Klotho and FGF receptor-1 (FGFR1) on osteoporosis (OP), there is no clear consensus. Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted on genome-wide association studies (GWASs)-based datasets to evaluate the causal relationship between FGF23, α-Klotho, FGFR1 and OP. The primary endpoint was the odds ratio (OR) of the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) approach. Furthermore, we stably transfected FGF23-mimic or siRNA-FGF23 into human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) in culture and determined its cell proliferation and the effects on osteogenic differentiation. Using MR analysis, we demonstrated a strong correlation between serum FGF23 levels and Heel- and femoral neck-BMDs, with subsequent ORs of 0.919 (95% CI: 0.860-0.983, p = 0.014) and 0.751 (95% CI: 0.587-0.962; p = 0.023), respectively. The expression levels of FGF23 were significantly increased in femoral neck of patients with OP than in the control cohort (p < 0.0001). Based on our in vitro investigation, after overexpression of FGF23, compared to the control group, the BMSC's proliferation ability decreased, the expression level of key osteogenic differentiation genes (RUNX2, OCN and OSX) significantly reduced, mineralized nodules and ALP activity significantly decreased. After silencing FGF23, it showed a completely opposite trend. Augmented FGF23 levels are causally associated with increased risk of OP. Similarly, FGF23 overexpression strongly inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs, thereby potentially aggravating the pathological process of OP.