Apelin enhances the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells partly through Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

BACKGROUND: Management of fracture healing with a large bone defect remains a tricky subject in orthopedic trauma. Enhancing osteogenesis of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) is one of the useful therapeutic strategies for fracture healing. Previous studies have revealed that Apelin may play an important role in bone metabolism. However, its function in the osteogenesis of hBMSCs remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects and mechanism of Apelin on osteogenic differentiation. METHODS: We investigated the osteogenesis effects of hBMSCs by both exogenous Apelin protein and overexpression Apelin in vitro. Cell proliferation assay was used to assess the effect of Apelin on the proliferation of hBMSCs. ALP staining and Alizarin Red staining were used to evaluate ALP activity and mineral deposition respectively. qPCR and Western blotting analysis were used to detect the expression of target genes and proteins. In vivo, a rat tibial osteotomy model was established; radiographic analysis and histological evaluation were used to confirm the therapeutic effects of Apelin in fracture healing. Statistical significance was determined by two-tailed Student’s t test when 2 groups were compared. When more than 2 groups were compared, one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s post-hoc test was used. And two-way ANOVA, followed by Bonferroni multiple comparisons post-hoc test, was performed when the treatment groups at different time points were compared. RESULTS: The addition of exogenous Apelin protein or overexpression of Apelin promoted osteoblast differentiation of hBMSCs in vitro. Increased mineral deposits were observed after treatment with extracellular Apelin protein or after the upregulation of Apelin. Moreover, β-catenin levels were upregulated by Apelin. The enhancement of osteogenic differentiation induced by Apelin was attenuated by specific Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway inhibitors. In a rat tibial osteotomy model, local injection of exogenous Apelin protein improved bone healing, as demonstrated by imaging and histological analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these findings indicate that Apelin regulates osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs partly via the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and effectively promotes fracture healing. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13287-019-1286-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.