Bone Abstracts

Osteocytes may function as mechanotransducers by regulating local osteoclastogenesis. Reduced availability of oxygen, i.e. hypoxia could occur during disuse, bone development and fracture. Receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) is an osteoblast/stromal cell derived essential factor for osteoclastogenesis. Hypoxia induced osteoclastogenesis via increased RANKL expression in osteoblasts was demonstrated. Hypoxic regulation of gene expression general...

Deficiency of Cyclophilin B (CyPB) causes recessively inherited Type IX osteogenesis imperfecta, a moderately severe to lethal bone dysplasia. CyPB, encoded by PPIB, is an ER-resident peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) that catalyzes the rate-limiting step in collagen folding, and also functions as a component of the collagen prolyl 3-hydroxylation complex. We previously demonstrated in a Ppib−/− mouse model that CyPB PPIase activity r...

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...

OPTN encodes a cytoplasmic protein optineurin which has been shown to play a role in autophagy. Recent GWAS studies have shown that variants within OPTN are associated with the risk of Paget’s disease of bone, a disease characterized by focal areas of increased bone turnover due to increased osteoclast activity, suggesting a possible role of OPTN in the regulation of bone metabolism.The aim of this study was to investigate the role of optineurin in ...

Poor bone mineralization remains a major health problem in patients with Thal and has been linked to functional zinc deficiency despite adequate dietary intake. The global etiology of poor bone mineralization includes inadequate dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D, endocrinopathies leading to disturbed calcium homeostasis, dysregulation of the GH–IGF1 axis, and delayed puberty, all resulting in limited growth, decreased bone formation and increased bone resorption. Th...

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...

Objectives: FGF23 is expressed in clusters of osteocytes at the trabecular periphery suggesting that FGF23-expressing osteocytes are confined to specific basic multicellular units (BMUs) at the trabecular surface. Higher numbers of FGF23-expressing osteocytes are found in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients with preserved skeletal mineralization indices. We thus combined immunohistochemistry and quantitative backscattered electron imaging (qBEI) to explore the hypothesis tha...

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...

Delta-like 1/fetal antigen-1 (DLK1/FA1) is a negative regulator of bone mass in vivo as it inhibits osteoblast (OB) and stimulates osteoclast differentiation. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are not known. Thus, we studied the effect of DLK1/FA1 on different signaling pathways known to regulate OB differentiation. We identified DLK1/FA1 as an inhibitor of BMP2-induced OB differentiation. Stable overexpression of DLK1/FA1 in C2C12 cells or th...