Bone and Cartilage Creating Cell Discovered

Scientists at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) have identified a stem cell in the bone marrow of mice that is capable of regenerating both bone and cartilage. They report their study (“Gremlin 1 Identifies a Skeletal Stem Cell with Bone, Cartilage, and Reticular Stromal Potential”) in the online issue of Cell.

They discovered the cells, called osteochondroreticular (OCR) stem cells, by tracking a protein expressed by the cells. Using this as a marker, the researchers found that OCR cells self-renew and generate key bone and cartilage cells, including osteoblasts and chondrocytes. The researchers also showed that OCR stem cells, when transplanted to a fracture site, contribute to bone repair.

“We demonstrate here that expression of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) antagonist gremlin 1 defines a population of osteochondroreticular (OCR) stem cells in the bone marrow, ” wrote the investigators. “OCR stem cells self-renew and generate osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and reticular marrow stromal cells, but not adipocytes. OCR stem cells are concentrated within the metaphysis of long bones not in the perisinusoidal space and are needed for bone development, bone remodeling, and fracture repair.”

“We are now trying to figure out whether we can persuade these cells to specifically regenerate after injury. If you make a fracture in the mouse, these cells will come alive again, generate both bone and cartilage in the mouse—and repair the fracture. The question is, could this happen in humans, ” said Siddhartha Mukherjee, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor of medicine at CUMC and a senior author of the study.

The researchers believe that OCR stem cells will be found in human bone tissue, as mice and humans have similar bone biology. “Our findings raise the possibility that drugs or other therapies can be developed to stimulate the production of OCR stem cells and improve the body’s ability to repair bone injury—a process that declines significantly in old age, ” said Timothy C. Wang, M.D., the Dorothy L. and Daniel H. Silberberg Professor of Medicine at CUMC, who initiated this research.

The study also showed that the adult OCRs are distinct from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which play a role in bone generation during development and adulthood. Researchers presumed that MSCs were the origin of all bone, cartilage, and fat. However, recent studies have shown that these cells do not generate young bone and cartilage. The CUMC study suggests that OCR stem cells actually fill this function and that both OCR stems cells and MSCs contribute to bone maintenance and repair in adults.