Syndecan-2 overexpression induces osteosarcoma cell apoptosis: Implication of syndecan-2 cytoplasmic domain and JNK signaling

Syndecans are cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans that serve as co-receptors and modulate the actions of a number of extracellular ligands. Syndecans thereby regulate cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Studies in cancer cells suggest that syndecans may also modulate cell viability. We previously showed that syndecan-2 controls the growth of normal human osteoblastic cells. In this study, we examined the role of syndecan-2 in osteosarcoma cell proliferation and apoptosis. To this goal, MG63 osteosarcoma cells which express low syndecan-2 levels were transfected to overexpress full-length syndecan-2 or truncated syndecan-2 lacking its cytoplasmic domain. Determination of cell growth by cell counting and 3H-thymidine incorporation showed that truncated syndecan-2 inhibited MG63 cell proliferation. Flow cytometry analysis of DNA content and colony forming test revealed that syndecan-2, but not truncated syndecan-2, induced MG63 cell death. We show that characteristic features of apoptosis such as caspase activation, PARP cleavage, cytochrome c release, increased Bax expression, and DNA fragmentation were associated with syndecan-2-induced cell death. We further show that expression of full-length or truncated syndecan-2 induced differential activation of MAPK phosphorylation in MG63 cells. Notably, syndecan-2 but not truncated syndecan-2 overexpression increased JNK phosphorylation. Moreover, SP600125, a specific inhibitor of JNK, suppressed Bax expression induced by syndecan-2 overexpression, indicating that JNK activation mediates syndecan-2-induced apoptosis. The results show that syndecan-2 induces osteoblastic cell apoptosis through the JNK/Bax apoptotic pathway and that the cytoplasmic domain of syndecan-2 is required for this action. This supports a role for syndecan-2 in the regulation of osteosarcoma cell fate and identifies one signaling pathway by which syndecan-2 induces apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells.