Abstract
The four R-spondins (RSPOs) and their three related receptors, LGR4, 5 and 6, have emerged as a major ligand-receptor system with critical roles in development and stem cell survival. However, the exact roles of the RSPO-LGR system in osteogenesis remain largely unknown. In the present study, we showed that RSPO3-shRNA increased the osteogenic potential of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) significantly. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that RSPO3 is a negative regulator of ERK/FGF signalling. We confirmed that inhibition of the ERK1/2 signalling pathway blocked osteogenic differentiation in hASCs, and the increased osteogenic capacity observed after RSPO3 knockdown in hASCs was reversed by inhibition of ERK signalling. Further, silencing of LGR4 inhibited the activity of ERK signalling and osteogenic differentiation of hASCs. Most importantly, we found that loss of LGR4 abrogated RSPO3-regulated osteogenesis and RSPO3-induced ERK1/2 signalling inhibition. Collectively, our data show that ERK signalling works downstream of LGR4 and RSPO3 regulates osteoblastic differentiation of hASCs possibly via the LGR4-ERK signalling.