Wnt3a induces the expression of acetylcholinesterase during osteoblast differentiation via the Runx2 transcription factor

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) hydrolyzes acetylcholine to terminate cholinergic transmission in neurons. Apart from this AChE activity, emerging evidence suggests that AChE could also function in other, non-neuronal cells. For instance, in bone, AChE exists as a proline-rich membrane anchor (PRiMA)-linked globular form in osteoblasts, in which it is proposed to play a noncholinergic role in differentiation. However, this hypothesis is untested. Here, we found that in cultured rat osteoblasts, AChE expression was increased in parallel with osteoblastic differentiation. Because several lines of evidence indicate that AChE activity in osteoblast could be triggered by Wnt/-catenin signaling, we added recombinant human Wnt3a to cultured osteoblasts and found that this addition induced expression of the ACHE gene and protein product. This Wnt3a-induced AChE expression was blocked by the Wnt-signaling inhibitor Dickkopf protein-1 (DKK-1). We hypothesized that the Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), a downstream transcription factor in Wnt/-catenin signaling, is involved in AChE regulation in osteoblasts, confirmed by the identification of a Runx2-binding site in the ACHE gene promoter, further corroborated by ChIP. Of note, Runx2 overexpression in osteoblasts induced AChE expression and activity of the ACHE promoter tagged with the luciferase gene. Moreover, deletion of the Runx2-binding site in the ACHE promoter reduced its activity during osteoblastic differentiation, and addition of 5-azacytidine and trichostatin A to differentiating osteoblasts affected AChE expression, suggesting epigenetic regulation of the ACHE gene. We conclude that AChE plays a role in osteoblastic differentiation and is regulated by both Wnt3a and Runx2.