Bone Abstracts

Cross talk between tumour cells and the host microenvironment plays a critical role in tumour progression. There have been multiple studies that have highlighted the importance of proteins secreted by tumour cells that then act on the tumour microenvironment and by proteins secreted by the host microenvironment that promote tumour progression at the metastatic niche. However, little is known regarding the role of physical forces on tumour progression.Bon...

Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis are at high risk for developing osteoporosis. Psoriatic arthritis patients exhibit bone loss caused by increased bone resorption through activation of osteoclasts. However, it is not clear whether psoriasis can lead to bone loss in the absence of arthritis. Using mouse models with skin inflammation as well as psoriasis patient samples, we show that increased circulating IL-17A from the inflamed skin triggers bone lo...

Background: Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a heterogeneous rare, inherited disorder of bone and mineral metabolism caused by different mutations in the ALPL gene encoding the isoenzyme, tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP). Prognosis is very poor in severe perinatal forms with most patients dying from pulmonary complications of their skeletal disease. TNAP, a ubiquitous enzyme, is mostly known for its role in bone mineralization. TNAP deficiency, however, may als...

Loss of genomic maintenance contributes to aging, as exemplified by mutations in Ercc DNA repair proteins that lead to a plethora of progeroid syndromes of which some display accelerated bone loss. It is generally accepted that dietary restriction (DR) increases life span and improves organ function. We therefore assessed the impact of DR on life span and bone mass in WT and bona fide prematurely aging hypomorphic Ercc-deficient mice (Ercc1−/Δ).<...

Objectives: Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare metabolic disease caused by loss-of-function mutation(s) in the gene encoding tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP). HPP in infants is characterized by poor skeletal mineralization, respiratory compromise, and a high risk of mortality. We previously reported improved mineralization and respiratory function in 15 patients enrolled in this second study of asfotase alfa, a bone-targeted recombinant human TNSALP, in infants a...

Activins belong to the transforming growth factor-β superfamily, and they regulate bone formation by controlling both osteoclast and osteoblast behaviour. We have previously shown that activin-A strongly inhibited matrix mineralization in osteoblast cultures, and that activin A-signalling was most effective before the onset of mineralization.The aim of this study was therefore to investigate how an early activin-A pulse affected osteoblast mineraliz...

Background: Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is caused by inactivating mutation(s) in the gene for tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase. Extracellular accumulation of inorganic pyrophosphate can lead to profound hypomineralization resulting in limb and chest deformity, respiratory complications and vitamin B6-dependent seizures in the severe forms of HPP. The natural history of HPP is poorly understood, but the perinatal and infantile forms are often considered lethal.<p class="...

The mammalian circadian clock is tightly controlled by clock genes, which have been shown to regulate up to 20% of the transcriptome in any given tissue. Evidence is accumulating that light-modulation perpetually affects circadian clock performance. In accordance, shift work or chronic jet lag is associated with higher risk of disease later in life, including osteoporosis. In this study, we assessed whether gestational jet lag in mice reduces bone mass postnatally.<p class...

Transient receptor potential vanilloid channels (TRPVs) have been implicated in Ca2+ homeostasis and bone metabolism. In particular, TRPV4 deficiency was shown to cause sexual dimorphism in bone metabolism and osteoporotic fracture risk. Cortical bone structure was reported to be altered in male TRPV4 knock-out (TRPV4−/−) mice but not in female TRPV−/− mice compared to sex-matched wildtype (TRPV4+/+) animals.To gain knowledge on t...

The transplantation of autologous bone graft represents the ‘gold standard’ treatment for large bone defects, despite the harvesting co-morbidity and limited availability. An alternative scaffold-based approach is presented. Our aim was to investigate to what degree structured scaffolds alone, or in combination with biological stimuli, allow guiding tissue regeneration. Scaffolds consisting of medical-grade polycaprolactone and tricalcium phosphate microparticles, co...