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Theranostics 2019; 9(24):7108-7121. doi:10.7150/thno.38182 This issue Cite

Research Paper

Kartogenin hydrolysis product 4-aminobiphenyl distributes to cartilage and mediates cartilage regeneration

Shuai Zhang¹, Peilin Hu¹, Tao Liu^1,2, Zhen Li^1,3, Yongcan Huang⁴, Jinqi Liao¹, Md Rana Hamid¹, Liru Wen¹, Ting Wang⁵, Cuiping Mo⁵, Mauro Alini³, Sibylle Grad³, Tianfu Wang⁶, Di Chen⁷, Guangqian Zhou^1✉

1. Department of Medical Cell Biology and Genetics, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Genomic Stability and Disease Prevention, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Anti-aging and Regenerative Medicine, and Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory of Regenerative Technologies for Orthopaedic Diseases, Health Sciences Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
2. Department of Biotherapy and Oncology, Shenzhen Luohu People's Hospital, Shenzhen, 518001, China.
3. AO Research Institute Davos, Davos, Switzerland.
4. Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory of Orthopaedic Regenerative Technologies, Departments of Orthopaedics, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 510086, China.
5. Shenzhen Apls Cell Technologies LTD., Yinxing Scientific Building, Lonhua District, Shenzhen, 510086, China.
6. Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements & Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Sciences Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China.
7. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.

✉ Corresponding author: Guangqian Zhou. E-mail address: gqzhouedu.cn; Fax: +86-075586671906.

Abstract

Rationale The small molecule Kartogenin (KGN) promotes cartilage regeneration in osteoarthritis (OA) by activating stem cells differentiation, but its pharmacological mode-of-action remains unclear. KGN can be cleaved into 4-aminobiphenyl (4-ABP) and phthalic acid (PA) following enzymolysis of an amide bond. Therefore, this study investigated whether 4-ABP or PA exerted the same action as KGN.

Methods KGN, 4-ABP and PA were analyzed in cartilage of mice after oral, intravenous or intra-articular administration of KGN by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Their effect on proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) was evaluated in vitro. Furthermore, their effect on cartilage preservation was tested in mice OA model induced by destabilization of medial meniscus. OA severity was quantified using OARSI histological scoring. Transcriptional analysis was used to find the possible targets of the chemicals, which were further validated.

Results We demonstrated that while oral or intra-articular KGN delivery effectively ameliorated OA phenotypes in mice, only 4-ABP was detectable in cartilage. 4-ABP could induce chondrogenic differentiation and proliferation of MSC in vitro and promote cartilage repair in OA mouse models mainly by increasing the number of CD44⁺/CD105⁺ stem-cell and prevention of matrix loss. These effect of 4-ABP was stronger than that of KGN. Transcriptional profiling of 4-ABP-stimulated MSC suggested that RPS6KA2 and the PI3K-Akt pathway were 4-ABP targets; 4-ABP could activate the PI3K-Akt pathway to promote MSC proliferation and repair OA injury, which was blocked in RPS6KA2-knockdown MSC or RPS6KA2-deficient mice.

Conclusion 4-ABP bio-distribution in cartilage promotes proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of MSC, and repairs osteoarthritic lesions via PI3K-Akt pathway activation.

Keywords: kartogenin, 4-aminobiphenyl, stem cells, osteoarthritis, RPS6KA2

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