Authors
Baozhi Yuan, Jian Q. Feng, Stephen Bowman, Ying Liu, Robert D. Blank, Iris Lindberg, Marc K. Drezner
Abstract
Inactivating mutations of PHEX/Phex underlie disease in patients with X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) and the hyp-mouse, a murine homologue of the human disorder. Although increased serum FGF-23 underlies the HYP phenotype, the mechanism(s) by which PHEX mutations inhibit FGF-23 degradation and/or enhance production remains unknown. Here we show that treatment of wild type mice with the proprotein convertase (PC) inhibitor, Decanoyl-Arg-Val-Lys-Arg-chloromethyl ketone, increases serum FGF-23 and produces the HYPphenotype. Since PC2 is uniquely co-localized with PHEX in osteoblasts/bone, we examined if PC2 regulates PHEX-dependent FGF-23 cleavage and production. Transfection of murine osteoblasts with PC2 and its chaperone protein 7B2 cleaved FGF-23, while Signe1 (7B2) RNAi transfection, which limited 7B2 protein production, decreased FGF-23 degradation and increased Fgf-23 mRNA and protein. The mechanism by which decreased 7B2•PC2 activity influences Fgf-23 mRNA was linked to reduced conversion of proBMP1 to active BMP1, which resulted in limited cleavage of DMP1, and consequent increased Fgf-23 mRNA. The significance of decreased 7B2•PC2 activity in XLH was confirmed by studies of hyp-mouse bone, which revealed significantly decreased Sgne1 (7B2) mRNA and 7B2 protein, and limited cleavage of proPC2 to active PC2. The expected downstream effects of these changes included decreased FGF-23 cleavage and increased FGF-23 synthesis, secondary to decreased BMP1-mediated degradation of DMP1. Subsequent Hexa-D-Arginine treatment of hyp-mice enhanced bone 7B2•PC2 activity, normalized FGF-23 degradation and production, and rescued the HYP phenotype. These data suggest decreased PHEX-dependent 7B2•PC2 activity is central to the pathogenesis of XLH.