Dose-Dependent Effect of Estrogen Suppresses the Osteo-Adipogenic Transdifferentiation of Osteoblasts via Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

Fat infiltration within marrow cavity is one of multitudinous features of estrogen deficiency, which leads to a decline in bone formation functionality. The origin of this fat is unclear, but one possibility is that it is derived from osteoblasts, which transdifferentiate into adipocytes that produce bone marrow fat. We examined the dose-dependent effect of 17β-estradiol on the ability of MC3T3-E1 cells and murine bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BMMSC)-derived osteoblasts to undergo osteo-adipogenic transdifferentiation. We found that 17β-estradiol significantly increased alkaline phosphatase activity (P<0.05); calcium deposition; and Alp, Col1a1, Runx2, and Ocn expression levels dose-dependently. By contrast, 17β-estradiol significantly decreased the number and size of lipid droplets, and Fabp4 and PPARγ expression levels during osteo-adipogenic transdifferentiation (P<0.05). Moreover, the expression levels of brown adipocyte markers (Myf5, Elovl3, and Cidea) and undifferentiated adipocyte markers (Dlk1, Gata2, and Wnt10b) were also affected by 17β-estradiol during osteo-adipogenic transdifferentiation. Western blotting and immunostaining further showed that canonical Wnt signaling can be activated by estrogen to exert its inhibitory effect of osteo-adipogenesis. This is the first study to demonstrate the dose-dependent effect of 17β-estradiol on the osteo-adipogenic transdifferentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells and BMMSCs likely via canonical Wnt signaling. In summary, our results indicate that osteo-adipogenic transdifferentiation modulated by canonical Wnt signaling pathway in bone metabolism may be a new explanation for the gradually increased bone marrow fat in estrogen-inefficient condition.