Bone Abstracts

Background: Breast cancer clinical trials have shown an enhanced anti-tumour activity of bone-targeted agents in postmenopausal patients. We have reported that zoledronic acid (ZOL) decreases serum levels of the tumour promoter follistatin in postmenopausal women and also inhibits expression of follistatin by breast tumour cells both in vitro and in vivo. We hypothesised that inhibin-A (InA) and ZOL may be altering bone levels of follistatin and its bound tum...

It is hypothesized that osteocytes regulate bone adaptation by sensing mechanical strains in their microenvironments and signaling net bone formation or resorption. Owing to bone’s anisotropic architecture, individual osteocytes within a bone experience varying strains under mechanical loading. Thus, to accurately determine the relationships between mechanical strain, osteocyte behavior, and bone remodeling, it is crucial to use a single-cell approach. Using an in viv...

The close relationship between muscle and bone has long been recognized especially during development where one tissue does not develop in the absence of the other. The mechanical interactions between the two tissues have dominated research under the assumption that the major interaction between the two tissues was the loading/unloading of bone by muscle. Though clear that loading of bone by muscle is necessary to maintain healthy bone, the concept that bone could have positiv...

The endocannabinoid system has important effects on bone mass and bone turnover. Mice with targeted inactivation of type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2) cannabinoid receptors develop osteoporosis with increasing age raising the possibility that cannabinoid receptor agonists might protect against age-related bone loss. Since cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug and its main psychotropic component -Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)- is an agonist at CB1 and CB2 receptors, we ...

Objectives: To define the role of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) in human osteochondromas. The expression of bone morphogenetic proteins and their corresponding receptors has not been clarified in osteochondromas. We determined immunohistochemically the localization and distribution of bone morphogenetic proteins 2, 4, 6 and 7, bone morphogenetic protein receptor types 1A, 1B and 2 and the functional effectors phosphorylated Smad proteins 1, 5 and 8 in the cartilaginous cap...

Objectives: Intravenous bisphosphonates have been used in children for various primary and secondary bone fragility disorders for three decades but beyond osteogenesis imperfecta, there is very limited information published in relation to outcomes. We report the experience at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), Melbourne using Zoledronic acid (ZA), describing outcomes based on the underlying condition for which treatment was given, with the aim of informing future protoc...

Objectives: The primary objective of this project was to determine the nature and timing of perceived early adverse effects associated with bisphosphonate therapy. Additional information was sought on how this affected the child and family, to determine if changes should be made to local guidelines.Methods: A Smartphone-based text message survey was sent to parents of patients receiving intravenous bisphosphonate therapy for primary and secondary osteopo...

Introduction: Nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (N-BPs) can inhibit the differentiation and function of osteoclasts derived from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in a dose-dependent manner. MUTZ-3 cells are a potentially useful human cell line for studying osteoclast differentiation. The aim of this study was to elucidate the action of N-BPs on MUTZ-3 cells.Methods: Human PBMCs and MUTZ-3 cells were cultured in α-MEM supplemented with he...

Fractures are very common and affect 2% of the population per annum. Fragility fractures represent the greatest unmet need and are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Currently, there is no approved therapy for enhancing healing of fragility fractures. We previously reported that upregulation of the early inflammatory response following skeletal injury can promote fracture repair (Glass et al PNAS 2011). Inflammation represents the earliest response followin...

Background: Allopurinol reduces oxidative stress and interacts with purinergic signalling systems important in bone metabolism and muscle function. We assessed whether allopurinol use was associated with a reduced incidence of hip fracture in older people who had undergone rehabilitation.Methods: Analysis of prospective, routinely-collected rehabilitation and hospitalisation data. Data on patients discharged from a single inpatient geriatric rehabilitati...