The goal of our study was to establish how a specific part of the bone Gene Regulatory Network (GRN) controls mineralization in response to stiffness. We hypothesized that a system of differential equations model stiffness-sensitive gene regulation in human mesenchymal stem cells through the epistatic genetic interactions between stiffness (e.g. WNT-β catenin pathway) and five of the main transcription factors and bone proteins (e.g. RUNX2, BSP, OSX, OC, and OPN). To test this hypothesis, we (i) performed in-vitro experiments culturing bone cells on different stiffness, (i) adapted our previously published model from being continuously time-dependent to continuously stiffness-sensitive, and (iii) simulated protein production in function of stiffness and other protein production from the best estimate of parameters coming from the experimental work. Our experimental findings reveal a non-parametric relationship between stiffness and RUNX2 production, with no discernible linear trends for other proteins. Modeling results demonstrate that continuous variations in stiffness enable simulation of bone GRN gene expression, fitting our novel experimental dataset. Specifically, our computational results indicate that OPN production peaks at low stiffness (8 kPa), while RUNX2, OSX, and OC achieve maximum production at higher stiffness levels (64 kPa). This alignment underscores the model’s capacity to replicate experimental data accurately. Additionally, our approach predicts that WNT-β-catenin activation serves as an enhancer for OPN and BSP production. The model also highlights a negative feedback-like interaction between OC and BSP production. Stiffness variations were shown to have a significant impact on OC and BSP production and a moderate effect on OPN production. By employing a stiffness-sensitive gene regulation model, we provide insights into one of the mineralization patterns through the prediction of bone protein expression dynamics.
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