Abstract
Fibroblast growth factor‐2 (FGF2) is a member of a prominent growth factor family that drives proliferation in a wide variety of cell types, including osteoblasts. The binding and signal transduction triggered by these mitogens is dependent on glycosaminoglycan (GAG) sugars, particularly of the heparan sulfate (HS) class. These are secreted in proteoglycan (PG) complexes, some of which become FGF co‐receptors. The syndecans, the transmembrane forms of HSPG of which there are four members, act as multifunctional receptors for a variety of ligands involved in cell‐extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion as well as growth factor binding. To understand the role of syndecans in developing osteoblasts, the effects of exogenous FGF2 on syndecan expression were examined using primary rat calvarial osteoblasts. All four syndecan mRNAs were expressed in the osteoblasts, although only syndecan‐4 was upregulated by FGF2 treatment in a dose‐dependent manner. This upregulation could be abrogated by pretreatment with the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, suggesting that the upregulation of syndecan‐4 by FGF2 is not a primary response. Osteoblast proliferation and mineralization were enhanced by exogenous FGF2 treatment, but could be specifically diminished by anti‐syndecan‐4 antibody pretreatment. This treatment also blocked FGF2‐induced extracellular signal‐regulated kinase activation, but not the expression of the bone‐specific transcription factor Runx2. These results demonstrate that mitogen‐triggered syndecan‐4 expression is an intrinsic part of the pathways subtending osteoblast proliferation and mineralization. J. Cell. Biochem. 100: 402–411, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.