Osteoblast-Specific Wnt Secretion is Required for Skeletal Homeostasis and Loading-Induced Bone Formation in Adult Mice

Wnt signaling is critical to many aspects of skeletal regulation, but the importance of Wnt ligands in adult bone homeostasis and the anabolic response to mechanical loading is not well documented. We inhibited Wnt ligand secretion in adult (5-mo) mice using a systemic (drug) and a bone-targeted (genetic) approach, and subjected them to axial tibial loading to induce lamellar bone formation. Mice treated with the porcupine inhibitor WNT974 exhibited a decrease in bone formation in non-loaded limbs as well as a 54% decline in the periosteal bone formation response to tibial loading. Similarly, within 1-2 weeks of Wls deletion in osteoblasts (Osx-CreERT2;WlsF/F mice), skeletal homeostasis was altered with decreased bone formation and increased resorption, and the anabolic response to loading was reduced 65% compared to control (WlsF/F). These findings establish a requirement for Wnt ligand secretion by osteoblasts for adult bone homeostasis and the anabolic response to mechanical loading.