FGFR3 in Periosteal Cells Drives Cartilage-to-Bone Transformation in Bone Repair

Most organs and tissues in the body, including bone, can repair after an injury due to the activation of endogenous adult stem/progenitor cells to replace the damaged tissue. Inherent dysfunctions of the endogenous stem/progenitor cells in skeletal repair disorders are still poorly understood. Here, we report that Fgfr3(Y637C/+) over-activating mutation in Prx1-derived skeletal stem/progenitor cells leads to failure of fracture consolidation. We show that periosteal cells (PCs) carrying the Fgfr3(Y637C/+) mutation can engage in osteogenic and chondrogenic lineages, but following transplantation do not undergo terminal chondrocyte hypertrophy and transformation into bone causing pseudarthrosis. Instead, Prx1(Cre);Fgfr3(Y637C/+) PCs give rise to fibrocartilage and fibrosis. Conversely, wild-type PCs transplanted at the fracture site of Prx1(Cre);Fgfr3(Y637C/+) mice allow hypertrophic cartilage transition to bone and permit fracture consolidation. The results thus highlight cartilage-to-bone transformation as a necessary step for bone repair and FGFR3 signaling within PCs as a key regulator of this transformation.