KOREASCHOLAR

The Hippo pathway was originally discovered in Drosophila by genetic screening and it has been shown to be conserved in various organisms including human. Until now, the essential roles of Hippo pathway in regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, tumorigenesis, and organ size control is extensively studied. Currently, Mats1/2 (Mob1a/1b), one of the important components in Hippo pathway, mutant mice were generated which has abnormal phenotype such as resistance to apoptosis and spontaneous tumorigenesis. Of note, Mats1/2 mutant mice also showed dental malocclusion. Therefore, in this study, we have evaluated the bone phenotype of Mats1/2 mutant mice. Although the mRNA expressions of Mats1 or Mats2 were observed in both osteoclastogenesis and osteoblastogenesis, the increase of Mats1 level was most prominent during osteoblastogenesis. The RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation from bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) was unaltered upon Mats1/2 mutation; however, the osteoblast differentiation using calvarial pre-osteoblasts was significantly reduced in Mats1/2 mutant mice compare to that of wild type mice. In accordance with in vitro results, Mats1/2 mutant mice showed decreased bone volume as well as increased trabecular separation in μCT analyses. These results may provide novel prospect of the probable linkage between Hippo pathway and bone homeostasis.

Abstract
 Ⅰ. INTRODUCTION
 Ⅱ. MATERIALS and METHODS
  1. Mats1/2 mutant mice and in vitro osteoclast differentiation
  2. Calvarial pre-osteoblast purification and osteogenic differentiation
  3. Reverse transcriptase polymerase-chain reaction(RT-PCR) and quantitative real-time PCR
  4. Western blot
  5. Statistical analysis
 Ⅲ. RESULTS
 Ⅳ. DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES

• 오주환(부산대학교 치의학전문대학원 구강생리학교실) | Juhwan Oh (Department of Oral Physiology, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University)
• 최윤정(부산대학교 치의학전문대학원 구강생리학교실, BK21플러스 사업단) | YunJeong Choi (Department of Oral Physiology, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, BK21 PLUS Project, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University)
• 유미현(구강병리학교실) | Mi Heon Ryu (Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University)
• 배문경(부산대학교 치의학전문대학원 구강생리학교실, BK21플러스 사업단) | Moon-Kyoung Bae (Department of Oral Physiology, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, BK21 PLUS Project, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University)
• 김형준(부산대학교 치의학전문대학원 구강생리학교실, BK21플러스 사업단) | Hyung Joon Kim (Department of Oral Physiology, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University, BK21 PLUS Project, School of Dentistry, Pusan National University) Correspondence