Osteocyte Connexin 43 Hemichannels Influence Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Fate through Prostagladin E2

Inhibiting Connexin 43 (Cx43) hemichannels in osteocytes led to a significant increase in adipogenesis and a decrease in osteogenesis in bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells. Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) were isolated from three groups: the WT group and two transgenic mouse models, R76W (inhibiting osteocyte Cx43 gap junctions) and Δ130–136 (blocking osteocyte Cx43 hemichannels and gap junctions). Subsequently, single-cell RNA sequencing was conducted on the sorted BM-MSCs to unravel their transcriptomic profiles.