CD14-deficiency protects against osteoarthritic subchondral bone sclerosis via enhanced osteoclastogenesis following...

Aberrant bone remodeling is a hallmark of osteoarthritis, the most common arthritis affecting over 27 million US adults. Subchondral bone sclerosis, one sign of aberrant bone remodeling observable by routine x-rays, occurs as the trabeculae thicken, leading to increased bone volume. Toll-like receptors, pattern-recognition receptors of the innate immune system, have been implicated in OA pathogenesis, with TLR ligands, receptors, and co-receptors shown to mediate the severity and progression of OA. We have previously shown that CD14-deficiency protects mice against post-traumatic OA, and specifically reduces subchondral sclerosis post-injury. We hypothesized that depletion of CD14 protects against TLR4-dependent inhibition of osteoclastogenesis and therefore increases OC density in the SCB after injury, mitigating aberrant bone deposition in a murine model of OA . To determine how cellular changes correlate with bone structure derangements post-DMM, we performed MicroCT, Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining, and alkaline phosphatase staining. To establish mechanistic changes in cellular signaling, we isolated WT and CD14-deficient osteoclast precursors and subjected them to LPS, an osteoarthritis-relevant TLR ligand, during differentiation. CD14-deficient mice, as well as WT mice treated with an anti-CD14 monoclonal antibody, show protection from post-injury increases in both bone volume fraction and bone mineral density. CD14-deficient mice had an increased osteoclast presence in the SCB two weeks post-injury, potentially protecting them from increases in bone volume and density. In vitro , CD14-deficient OCPs differentiated faster than WT OCPs, due to reduced Type I Interferon (IFN-I) signaling. In the presence of an LPS challenge, CD14-deficient OCPs were protected against LPS and TLR4-mediated inhibition, likely due to decreased MyD88-dependent TLR4 signaling. This work opens up new potential pathways to therapeutically target aberrant bone remodeling in the setting of joint injury and PTOA.

Osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. One of the hallmarks is subchondral sclerosis, or thickening of the bone in and around the joint. In this work, we used a mouse model of osteoarthritis to show that decreasing inflammatory signaling, through removal of CD14, protects against subchondral sclerosis, due to an increased presence of osteoclasts, cells that combat bone thickening. Osteoclasts without CD14 differentiate faster than osteoclasts with CD14, due to decreased Type I Interferon, an inflammatory cytokine.