The antimicrobial peptide KR-12 promotes the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow stem cells by stimulating BMP/SMAD signaling

KR-12 is the smallest fragment of human antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin (LL-37), and could play key roles in the treatment of multiple infections, including osteomyelitis. Our preliminary work found that KR-12 enhances the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (HBMSCs). The present study investigated whether KR-12 affects HBMSC osteogenic differentiation, as well as the molecular mechanisms involved. HBMSC proliferation in the presence of KR-12 was observed with a cell counting 8 assay, and its effects on HBMSC cell cycle progression and apoptosis were examined by flow cytometry. Alkaline phosphatase, Sirius Red, and Alizarin Red staining and quantitative assays were used to study the osteogenic differentiation of HBMSCs. The expression of osteogenic differentiation markers was detected by real-time quantitative PCR analysis. The activation of potentially related pathways was examined by luciferase reporter assay and western blot analysis. KR-12 treatment increased the osteogenic differentiation of HBMSCs without cytotoxicity and did not influence the cell cycle or induce apoptosis. Luciferase reporter assays showed that KR-12 activated the transcription of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), a key gene in the BMP/SMAD pathway. Western blot analysis indicated that BMP/SMAD signaling was markedly activated by KR-12 stimulation in osteogenic induction conditions. SMAD phosphorylation was activated by KR-12 treatment, and was inhibited by both a transforming growth factor-β/SMAD inhibitor (LDN-193189 HCL) and BMP2 small interfering RNA (si-BMP2). LDN-193189 HCL and si-BMP2 treatment also abolished the KR-12-induced osteogenic differentiation of HBMSCs. In conclusion, our results suggest that KR-12 promotes HBMSC osteogenesis through the activation of BMP/SMAD signaling.