α-Melanocyte stimulating hormone attenuates dexamethasone-induced osteoblast damages through activating melanocortin receptor 4-SphK1 signaling

Long-term glucocorticoid (GC) usage may cause non-traumatic femoral head osteonecrosis. Dexamethasone (Dex) is shown to exert potent cytotoxic effect to osteoblasts. Here, we investigated the potential activity of α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) against the process. Our data revealed that pretreatment of α-MSH significantly inhibited Dex-induced apoptosis and necrosis in both osteoblastic-like MC3T3-E1 cells and primary murine osteoblasts. Melanocortin receptor 4 (MC4R) acts as the receptor of α-MSH in mediating its actions in osteoblasts. The MC4R antagonist SHU9119, or shRNA-mediated knockdown of MC4R, almost abolished α-MSH-induced activation of downstream signalings (Akt and Erk1/2) and its pro-survival effect in osteoblasts. Further studies showed that α-MSH activated MC4R downstream sphingosine kinase 1 (SphK1) and increased cellular sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) content in MC3T3-E1 cells and primary murine osteoblasts, which were blocked by SHU9119 or MC4R shRNAs. SphK1 inhibition by the its inhibitor N,N-dimethylsphingosine (DMS), or SphK1 knockdown by targeted-shRNAs, largely attenuated α-MSH-mediated osteoblast protection against Dex. Together, these results suggest that α-MSH alleviates Dex-induced damages to cultured osteoblasts through activating MC4R-SphK1 signaling.