Bone Abstracts

Osteoporosis is a common skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass leading to increased bone fragility and fracture susceptibility. Little is currently known about what specific factors stimulate osteoblast differentiation from human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Therefore, the aim for this project is to determine novel factors and mechanisms involved in human bone production which can be targeted to treat osteoporosis, using gene expression profiling and bioinformati...

Osteoporosis is a common skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass leading to increased bone fragility and fracture susceptibility. Little is currently known about what specific factors stimulate osteoblast differentiation from human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Therefore, the aim for this project is to determine novel factors and mechanisms involved in human bone production which can be targeted to treat osteoporosis, using gene expression profiling and bioinformati...

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...

Introduction: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is increasingly used in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantations; however, the low cell numbers are still remaining as a limiting factor for proper engraftment. Osteoblasts are major constituents of HSC niche and play important roles in regulating HSC self-renewal and differentiation. Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been implicated in stem cell fate regulation via horizontal transfer of proteins and nucleic acids betwe...

Objectives: Strong coordination between osteoblasts and bone marrow cells is fundamental for the regulation of healthy bone turnover and other (patho)physiological processes. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate communication between cells via horizontal transfer of proteins and nucleic acids. Osteoblasts secrete EVs in the form of matrix vesicles involved in bone mineralization, however, information about a role in intercellular communication is still lacking. In this study, ...

Background: We identified a family with early onset X-linked osteoporosis and fracturesMethods: We performed whole exome sequencing of the X chromosome in three affected members. After discovering a putative pathogenic variant we performed Sanger sequencing of all exons of this gene in other members of this family and in 95 unrelated men suspected of OI type I without COL1A1/2 mutations. We also genotyped a SNP in this gene (minor allele frequency 0.02) ...

Biographical DetailsWim Van HulWim Van Hul is full professor of Molecular biology and genetics at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He obtained a bachelor degree in Chemistry from the University of Louvain (Belgium) and a master degree in biochemistry. He obtained his PhD on molecular genetics in 1993 from the University of Antwerp. He started his...

Background: Elevated plasma homocysteine levels are a risk factor for osteoporotic fractures. Supplementation with vitamin B12/folic acid lowers homocysteine levels. This study aimed to determine whether vitamin B12/folic acid supplementation reduces osteoporotic fracture incidence in hyperhomocysteinemic elderly.Methods: B-PROOF is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial including 2 919 participants aged ≧65 years with elevated homocyste...

Biographical DetailsM van den Heuvel-Eibrink is Associate Professor of Pediatric Oncology at the Erasmus MC/Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She began her medical career with an MD from the University of Utrecht and following a number of years of clinical work in the pediatric oncology field completed her PhD in Rotterdam in 2001. Since 2009 Dr M van den Heuvel...

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common monogenic cause of renal failure. Data from adult ADPKD population show increased fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) levels while circulating Klotho levels decrease, with a low TmP/GFR even in patients with normal renal function. Moreover, in ADPKD animal models, cyst lining renal cells were demonstrated to produce FGF23, although the animals displayed FGF23 resistance. No data are available in a paediatr...