Parathyroid hormone regulates the expression of rat osteoblast and osteosarcoma nuclear matrix proteins

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) alters osteoblast morphology. How these changes in cell shape modify nuclear structure and ultimately gene expression is not known. Chronic exposure to rat PTH (1–34) [10 nM] attenuated the expression of 200, 190, and 160 kD proteins in the nuclear matrix-intermediate filament subfraction of the rat osteosarcoma cells, ROS 17/2.8 [Bidwell et al. (1994b): Endocrinology 134:1738–1744]. Here, we determined that these same PTH-responsive proteins were expressed in rat metaphyseal osteoblasts. We identified the 200 kD protein as a non-muscle myosin. Although the molecular weights, subcellular distribution, and half-lives of the 190 and 160 kD proteins were similar to topoisomerase II-α and -β, nuclear matrix enzymes that mediate DNA topology, the 190 and 160 kD proteins did not interact with topoisomerase antibodies. Nevertheless, the expression of topoisomerase II-α, and NuMA, a component of the nuclear core filaments, was also regulated by PTH in the osteosarcoma cells. The 190 kD protein was selectively expressed in bone cells as it was not observed in OK opossum kidney cells, H4 hepatoma cells, or NIH3T3 cells. PTH attenuated mRNA expression of the PTH receptor in our cell preparations. These results demonstrate that PTH selectively alters the expression of osteoblast membrane, cytoskeletal, and nucleoskeletal proteins. Topoisomerase II-α, NuMA, and the 190 and 160 kD proteins may direct the nuclear PTH signalling pathways to the target genes and play a structural role in osteoblast gene expression. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.