Thrombin: A Driver or Attenuator of Bone Disease on Hemophilia?
Authors: Goldscheitter Galen , Klein Robert , Taylor Jason A 
Published: November 2019

Introduction: Hemophilic bone disease is a pathology inherent to factor VIII (FVIII) and factor IX (FIX) deficiency present in both adult and pediatric persons with hemophilia (PWH). This pathology is also present in mouse models. We have previously demonstrated that FVIII replacement restores lost mineralization activity in osteoblast-like cells from FVIII-deficient mice. We hypothesized that bone disease in PWH is secondary to decreased thrombin generation in PWH.

Methods: Murine bone marrow stromal cells isolated from FVIII knockout (FVIII-/-) and wild-type (FVIII+/+) C57BL mice and human osteosarcoma (HOS) TE85 cells were cultured in α-MEM with 0-10% FBS, 100 U/mL penicillin, 100 µg/mL streptomycin, and 25 µg/mL Amphotericin B. Ten millimolar ß-glycerophosphate and 50 µg/mL ascorbic acid were added to induce differentiation and mineralization. Mineralized deposits were stained with alizarin red. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and culture protein content were measured using colorimetric assays.

Results: In , the addition of thrombin in serum-free conditions increases cell proliferation ~25% (p=5x10-4, ANCOVA) and decreases mineralization up to 84% (p=1x10-6) (Figure 1). Thrombin's effect on ALP activity in HOS TE85 cells is negative at low cell numbers and positive at high cell numbers (Figure 1). Osteoblast-like cells from FVIII-/- mice mineralize 70% less than those from FVIII+/+ cells (p=3x10-6). Administering FVIII to cells from FVIII-/- mice ameliorates the mineralization deficiency (Figure 1), while mineralization in cells from FVIII+/+ mice does not change (p=0.66). FVIII-/- cells express 30% lower levels of ALP activity than FVIII+/+ (p=3x10-4). FVIII+/+ cells proliferate 26% more rapidly than FVIII-/- cells (p=4x10-7, ANCOVA), but this is not affected by the addition of FVIII in vitro (p=0.45). The addition of FVIII causes a ~33% decrease in ALP activity in osteoblast-like cells from both FVIII-/- (p=2x10-4) and FVIII+/+ (p=5x10-5) mice.

Although thrombin impacts osteoblast differentiation and function, it has paradoxical effects on their mineralization, suggesting thrombin deficiency is not the sole driver of reduced bone health in PWH. Deficient mineralization in cells from FVIII-/- mice compared to those from FVIII+/+ mice is corrected with FVIII replacement in vivo or in vitro, suggesting that circulating FVIII has a positive role in these cells' mineralization. More rapid proliferation in cells from FVIII+/+ mice likely contributes to the increase in mineralization, yet, as proliferation is unchanged by FVIII replacement, it appears unlikely that this effect occurs via the same mechanism. Thrombin causes increased proliferation of HOS TE85 cells, yet also causes a significant decline in mineralization activity (Figure 1). Whether this is a paradoxical effect present only in this transformed cell line is yet undetermined. ALP activity increases when HOS TE85 cells are given thrombin in vivo during the log phase of growth (Figure 1), indicating a positive effect on the osteoblast-like function of the cells. However, this notion is undermined by the decrease in mineralization. Identifying the role of FVIII, FIX, thrombin, and active protein C in bone mineralization in PWH is proving to be a challenging undertaking, yet it remains critical, especially as new drugs with the potential to supplant FVIII prophylaxis hit the market. Future experiments will include thrombin and a thrombin inhibitor, a PAR1 agonist and antagonist, a PAR2 antagonist, and an APC neutralizing antibody. Upcoming findings will be discussed.

Disclosures

Taylor: Baxalta: Research Funding; CTI BioPharma: Employment, Equity Ownership.