Adenosine and its receptors play a key role in bone homeostasis and regeneration. Extracellular adenosine is generated from CD39 and CD73 activity in the cell membrane, through conversion of adenosine triphosphate to adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and AMP to adenosine, respectively. Despite the relevance of CD39/CD73 to bone health, the roles of these enzymes in bona fide skeletal disorders remain unknown. We demonstrate that CD39/CD73 expression and extracellular adenosine levels in the bone marrow are substantially decreased in animals with osteoporotic bone loss. Knockdown of estrogen receptors ESR1 and ESR2 in primary osteoprogenitors and osteoclasts undergoing differentiation showed decreased coexpression of membrane-bound CD39 and CD73 and lower extracellular adenosine. Targeting the adenosine A2B receptor using an agonist attenuated bone loss in ovariectomized mice. Together, these findings suggest a pathological association of purine metabolism with estrogen deficiency and highlight the potential of A2B receptor as a target to treat osteoporosis.

Migration of endothelial cells is essential for wound healing and angiogenesis. Src kinase activity plays important roles at the protrusions of migrating endothelial cells. However, the spatiotemporal coordination between Src kinase activity and the protrusion of cell edge remains unclear. Therefore, we investigate these coordinated molecular events at the initiation of cell migration, by integrating microfabrication, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based biosensors, and automated computational image analysis. We demonstrate that the physical release of restrictive micropattern triggered a significant decrease of Src activity at the protrusive edge of endothelial cells. Computational cross-correlation analysis reveals that the decrease of Src activity occurred earlier in time, and was well-coordinated with the protrusion of cell edge in polarized cells, but not in non-polarized cells. These results suggest that the spatiotemporal control of Src kinase activity is well-coordinated with cell polarization and protrusion in endothelial cells upon the release of physical constraint, as that experienced by endothelial cells sprouting from stiff tumor micro-environment during angiogenesis. Therefore, our integrative approach enabled the discovery of a new model where Src is de-activated in coordination with membrane protrusion, providing important insights into the regulation of endothelial migration and angiogenesis.

Histone methylations play a crucial role in chromatin remodeling and genome regulations. However, there is a lack of tools to visualize these histone modifications with high spatiotemporal resolutions in live cells. We have developed a biosensor based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and incorporated it into nucleosomes, capable of monitoring the trimethylation of H3K27 (H3K27me3) in live cells. We also revealed that the performance of the FRET biosensor can be significantly improved by adjusting the linkers within the biosensor. An improved biosensor enables the live-cell imaging of different histone methylation status, induced by the suppressive H3.3K27M or existing in breast cancer cells with varying genetic backgrounds. We have further applied the biosensor to reveal the dynamic coupling between H3K27me3 changes and caspase activity representing the initiation of apoptosis in cancer cells by imaging both H3K27me3 and caspase activity simultaneously in the same live cells. Thus, this new FRET biosensor can provide a powerful tool to visualize the epigenetic regulation in live cells with high spatial temporal resolutions.