Altered expression of bone sialoproteins in vitamin D-deficient rBSP2.7Luc transgenic mice

Bone sialoprotein (BSP) and osteopontin (OPN) are two major noncollagenous matrix proteins in mineralized connective tissue that have discrete roles in bone matrix formation, mineralization, and remodeling. The osteotropic secosteroid, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, a potent regulator of bone remodeling required for normal bone development, has been shown to exert differential effects on OPN and BSP expression by bone cells in vitro. To investigate these effects in vivo, we induced vitamin D3 deficiency in a transgenic mouse line (rBSP2.7Luc) that has a 2.7 kb rat BSP promoter linked to a luciferase reporter gene in its genome. Pregnant rBSP2.7Luc mice were fed vitamin D3-deficient food and demineralized water for 6 weeks. Their offspring were weaned at 3 weeks of age and then fed vitamin D-deficient food for an additional week. The control group were fed normal rodent pellets and water during the entire experimental procedure. Bone tissues from 40, 4-week-old offspring in each group were analyzed for BSP, OPN and luciferase expression. Vitamin D3-deficient mice displayed a rachitic phenotype that included reduced size and malformation of bones. Assays of the BSP promoter transgene in calvariae, mandibles, and tibiae of the rachitic mice showed increases in luciferase activity of 3.1-, 1.9-, and 4.6-fold, respectively, when compared with control littermates. Semiquantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction assays of BSP mRNA revealed increases of 7-, 74-, and 66-fold, respectively, in the same rachitic bones, while OPN mRNA was reduced 12.5-fold in calvariae and 2-fold in tibiae and mandibles. In situ hybridization using mouse cRNA probes revealed that the increased BSP expression and decreased OPN expression in the vitamin D3-deficient mice was primarily in osteoblastic cells on the surface of calvariae and endosteal spaces of alveolar bone, on newly formed epiphyseal bone, and in cementoblasts and in hypertrophic chondrocytes. These studies are the first to show that BSP and OPN are differentially regulated by vitamin D3 in vivo, reflecting the diverse roles of these protein in bone remodeling. Moreover, the increased expression of the BSP transgene in the rachitic mice demonstrates that vitamin D3 regulation of BSP expression is mediated, in part, by element(s) within the 2.7 kb promoter region.