Transmembrane protein 64 reciprocally regulates osteoblast and adipocyte differentiation by modulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Age-related osteoporosis is associated with a reciprocal decrease in bone formation and an increase in adiposity in the bone marrow niche. We previously reported Transmembrane protein 64 (Tmem64) to be an important regulator of osteoclast function; however, its precise role in osteoblasts has not yet been established. Here, we showed that ablation of the Tmem64 gene in mice resulted in markedly increased osteoblast and reduced adipocyte differentiation from bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BMSCs). Conversely, Tmem64 overexpression inhibited osteogenesis and accelerated adipogenesis. Furthermore, BMSCs isolated from Tmem64 knockout mice formed a greater number of colony-forming unit-osteoblasts and a lower number of colony-forming unit-adipocytes than the wild type controls. Mechanistically, the expression level of β-catenin, the key Wnt signaling molecule, increased significantly, and its nuclear translocation was enhanced in Tmem64-deficient cells. Introduction of Tmem64 significantly suppressed β-catenin-mediated transcriptional activity in an in vitro co-transfection experiment as well as during an in vivo experiment involving BAT-Gal reporter mice. These results demonstrate that Tmem64 plays an important role in the regulation of mesenchymal lineage allocation by modulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling.