Bone Abstracts

Tyrosine kinase c-Src plays an important role in actin ring formation and bone resorption activity in osteoclasts. Therefore, c-Src has been targeted for the treatment of osteolytic disorders. In the present study, we investigated anti-resorptive effect of dibenzazepine (DBZ), one of the γ-secretase inhibitors (GSIs), on osteoclast-mediated excessive bone resorption. DBZ did not affect osteoclast differentiation, but disturbed actin ring formation and inhibited osteoclast...

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy in women and frequently results in osteolytic bone metastases. Amino-bisphosphonates are a standard bone protective therapy and, similarly to statins, inhibit the mevalonate pathway that is crucial for posttranslational protein modifications (farnesylation and geranylation). Direct anti-tumor effects of amino-bisphosphonates and statins have been suggested but high concentrations are necessary to achieve meaningful effects. Our stu...

Distal-less homeobox 5 (Dlx5) is a transcription factor that enhances osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells via upregulating the expression of Runx2 and other osteoblast phenotypic genes. We have previously demonstrated that Dlx5 also downregulates adipogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells and that insulin decreases expression levels of Dlx5 via increasing expression levels of miR-124, a microRNA targeting 3′UTR of Dlx5. However, the mechanism o...

The impact of sex and maturation on trabecular (Tb) and cortical (Ct) microarchitecture in children and young adults has not been well established. The new second-generation high-resolution peripheral quantitative CT (HR-pQCT) scanner (XCT II, Scanco Medical) incorporates three important advances to provide greater spatial resolution, direct measures of Tb thickness and spacing and measures in the Ct midshaft. The aim of this study was to identify sex and maturation effects on...

High Bone Mass (HBM) osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is caused by dominant mutations in the C-propeptide cleavage site of COL1A1 or COL1A2, characterized by bone hypermineralization. To elucidate the role of C-propeptide processing in bone mineralization and development, we generated heterozygous HBM mice with both residues (Ala-Asp) of the COL1A1 cleavage site substituted (Thr-Asn) to prevent processing by BMP1. Two, 6- and 12-month WT and HBM bones were examin...

Kit ligand/c-Kit receptor tyrosine kinase complex has been implicated as a target for bone remodeling process. Loss of function mutation in c-Kit causes low bone mass in KitW/W-v (W/Wv) mice. However, these mice are sterile and it is unclear whether the observed skeletal phenotype is secondary to sex hormone deficiency. To address this question, the skeletal phenotype of KitW...

Inflammatory processes play a role in osteoclastogenesis. C-reactive protein (CRP), an acute phase reactant that reflects different degree of inflammation. More recently, accumulating evidence suggest that CRP is not only an inflammatory marker but also direct cause of diseases. Therefore, we examined the direct effects of CRP on osteoclast formation using RAW 264.7 cells. CRP significantly inhibited RANKL-induced TRAP-positive multinucleated cell formation in RAW 264.7 cell c...

Biographical DetailsAmaka C Offiah is Senior Lecturer and Consultant Paediatric Radiologist at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Children’s Hospital. She has a specialist interest in the musculoskeletal system. She has co-authored two books, seven book chapters, published 67 peer-reviewed articles and given over 100 invited national and international lectures. She is Convenor...

The relationship between bone formation and blood flow is unclear. Recently, PTH was reported to activate production of nitric oxide (NO), a potent vasorelaxing agent, in endothelial cells and we and others have confirmed a strong vasorelaxing action of PTH in vivo in the mouse. Here, we tested the hypothesis that a potent NO synthase inhibitor (L-NAME: NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester) may alter the effect of intermittent PTH (iPTH) on b...

Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is the rare inherited metabolic disease caused by loss-of-function mutations in the tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) gene. TNSALP deficiency leads to extracellular excess of inorganic pyrophosphate, a bone mineralization inhibitor. Here, we report the validity and reproducibility of a novel scale to quantify HPP-specific radiographic changes in pediatric patients.The Radiographic Global Impression of Change (RGI-C) ...