A Zeb1/MtCK1 metabolic axis controls osteoclast activation and skeletal remodeling

Zhu L, Tang Y, Li XY, Kerk SA, Lyssiotis CA, Feng W, Sun X, Hespe GE, Wang Z, Stemmler M, Brabletz S, Brabletz T, Keller ET, Ma J, Cho JS, Yang J, Weiss SJ (2023)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

EMBO Journal EMBO Press

DOI: 10.15252/embj.2022111148

Abstract

Osteoclasts are bone-resorbing polykaryons responsible for skeletal remodeling during health and disease. Coincident with their differentiation from myeloid precursors, osteoclasts undergo extensive transcriptional and metabolic reprogramming in order to acquire the cellular machinery necessary to demineralize bone and digest its interwoven extracellular matrix. While attempting to identify new regulatory molecules critical to bone resorption, we discovered that murine and human osteoclast differentiation is accompanied by the expression of Zeb1, a zinc-finger transcriptional repressor whose role in normal development is most frequently linked to the control of epithelial-mesenchymal programs. However, following targeting, we find that Zeb1 serves as an unexpected regulator of osteoclast energy metabolism. In vivo, Zeb1-null osteoclasts assume a hyperactivated state, markedly decreasing bone density due to excessive resorptive activity. Mechanistically, Zeb1 acts in a rheostat-like fashion to modulate murine and human osteoclast activity by transcriptionally repressing an ATP-buffering enzyme, mitochondrial creatine kinase 1 (MtCK1), thereby controlling the phosphocreatine energy shuttle and mitochondrial respiration. Together, these studies identify a novel Zeb1/MtCK1 axis that exerts metabolic control over bone resorption in vitro and in vivo.

Authors with CRIS profile

Marc Stemmler Lehrstuhl für Experimentelle Medizin mit dem Schwerpunkt Molekulare Pathogeneseforschung Simone Brabletz Lehrstuhl für Experimentelle Medizin II (Molekulare Tumorforschung) Thomas Brabletz Lehrstuhl für Experimentelle Medizin mit dem Schwerpunkt Molekulare Pathogeneseforschung

Involved external institutions

Wuhan University CN China (CN) University of Michigan US United States (USA) (US)

How to cite

APA:

Zhu, L., Tang, Y., Li, X.-Y., Kerk, S.A., Lyssiotis, C.A., Feng, W.,... Weiss, S.J. (2023). A Zeb1/MtCK1 metabolic axis controls osteoclast activation and skeletal remodeling. EMBO Journal. https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2022111148

MLA:

Zhu, Lingxin, et al. "A Zeb1/MtCK1 metabolic axis controls osteoclast activation and skeletal remodeling." EMBO Journal (2023).

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