Caveolin-1 regulates P2X7 receptor signaling in osteoblasts

Abstract

The synthesis of new bone in response to a novel applied mechanical load requires a complex series of cellular signaling events in osteoblasts and osteocytes. The activation of the purinergic receptor P2X7R is central to this mechanotransduction signaling cascade. Recently, P2X7R have been found to be associated with caveolae, a subset of lipid microdomains found in several cell types. Deletion of caveolin-1 (CAV1), the primary protein constituent of caveolae in osteoblasts, results in increased bone mass, leading us to hypothesize that the P2X7R is scaffolded to caveolae in osteoblasts. Thus, upon activation of the P2X7R, we postulate that caveolae are endocytosed, thereby modulating the downstream signal. Sucrose gradient fractionation of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts showed that CAV1 was translocated to the denser cytosolic fractions upon stimulation with ATP. Both ATP and the more specific P2X7R agonist 2′(3′)- O-(4-benzoylbenzoyl)ATP (BzATP) induced endocytosis of CAV1, which was inhibited when MC3T3-E1 cells were pretreated with the specific P2X7R antagonist A-839977. The P2X7R cofractionated with CAV1, but, using superresolution structured illumination microscopy, we found only a subpopulation of P2X7R in these lipid microdomains on the membrane of MC3T3-E1 cells. Suppression of CAV1 enhanced the intracellular Ca2+ response to BzATP, suggesting that caveolae regulate P2X7R signaling. This proposed mechanism is supported by increased mineralization in CAV1 knockdown MC3T3-E1 cells treated with BzATP. These data suggest that caveolae regulate P2X7R signaling upon activation by undergoing endocytosis and potentially carrying with it other signaling proteins, hence controlling the spatiotemporal signaling of P2X7R in osteoblasts.