Bone Abstracts

Destruction of the articular cartilage is the major feature of Osteoarthritis (OA). Ageing is the primary risk factor, but how ageing results in OA is still an enigma. In OA, articular chondrocytes degrade their own matrix, while in healthy articular cartilage they preserve it.Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is a central regulator of chondrocyte proliferation, differentiation and extracellular matrix production. Deregulation of TGFβ si...

Objective: To study the trends in prescription of different anti-osteoporotic drugs (AOD) in the UK population aged 50 years or above from 1990 till 2012.Methods: Retrospective observational study using the CPRD data link representative for the total UK population. The incidence of prescription of a specific AOD was calculated by dividing the number of prescriptions by the total person-years (py) of follow-up.Results: AOD prescript...

Background: Progressive osseous heteroplasia (POH) (OMIM 166350) is a rare autosomal dominant condition, characterized by heterotopic ossification of the skin, subcutaneous fat and deep connective tissue. This condition is distinct from Albright’s hereditary osteodystrophy or Mccune–Albright syndrome (AHO) (OMIM 103580) and fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) (OMIM 135100).Presenting problem: We present an unu...

Introduction: Osteopenia is a well-known complication of anorexia nervosa (AN) in older adolescents and adults, especially in those with a long duration of the disease and a severe underweight.Aim: We investigated whether young premenarchal girls with AN have similar risk factors for a disturbed bone growth and mineralization.Methods: Twenty-four female premenarchal AN patients as well as 24 age and height matched female controls u...

Signaling pathways crucial in bone development, including Wnt, are also upregulated in breast cancer cells to promote tumor growth in the skeleton, a process known as osteomimicry. Thus, we hypothesized that bone metastatic tumor cells also aberrantly express osteogenic miRNAs to support osteomimetic properties. We have previously shown that miR-218 is highly expressed in osteoblasts and promotes osteogenic differentiation. Interestingly, expression analysis revealed a signifi...

Objectives: Osteonecrosis (ON) and decline of bone mineral density (BMD) are serious side effects during and after treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). It is unknown whether ON and low BMD co-occur in the same patients, and whether these two osteogenic side-effects can mutually influence each other’s development.Methods: BMD and the incidence of symptomatic ON were prospectively assessed in a national cohort of 466 patients wit...

Prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer in men and metastatic spread to bone is detected in up to 80% of patients with advanced disease at autopsy. PCa can progress from treatable androgen-dependent stage to castration-resistant stage with distant metastases for which novel therapeutic targets and strategies are urgently needed. Here we identify the cell surface/secreted oncoprotein Cripto as a potential target for the diagnosis and treatment of metastatic prostate cancer...

Osteoclast presents a central role in several inflammatory diseases that are associated to bone destruction. This condition results from increased osteoclastic bone resorption and/or decreased bone formation. Fluoride (F) is widely consumed in the drinking water due to its anticariogenic effect and has been shown to modulate in vivo bone metabolism in a strain-specific dependent manner. It enhances bone formation in 129P3/J mice but not in A/J mice. However, its effec...

Objectives: We recently demonstrated that cow’s milk allergic infants who received an amino acid-based formula (AAF) for 16 weeks as oral feeding had adequate mineral status (1). One factor that may negatively affect mineral solubility and bioavailability and hence mineral status, is high gastric pH (2), but data on this in infants are lacking. Therefore, the present study evaluates serum concentrations of phosphorus, calcium and magnesium in a subgroup of infants on AAF ...

Bisphosphonates (BPs) such as zoledronic acid (ZA) are widely used to treat bone diseases. The use of BPs can lead to osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), but it is not clear why in particular the jaw bone is affected. Previously, it was shown that osteoclasts derived from different bone sites have different properties. We hypothesize that BPs have distinct effects on bone-site specific osteoclasts or precursors. To investigate this, female C57BL/6J mice were injected intraperitone...