Bone Abstracts

Subchondral bone remodelling and osteophyte growth are widely recognised hallmarks of knee osteoarthritis (OA) although their contribution to disease is not fully understood. Murine models, with targeted genetic modifications, have become powerful tools for discovering disease pathophysiology. Our unpublished observations suggest that osteophyte formation is independent of cartilage loss thereby implying potentially independent molecular drivers. We have developed a novel imag...

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...

GH is an important anabolic hormone involved in the regulation of longitudinal bone growth. However, acromegaly patients have a higher prevalence of vertebral fractures despite normal bone mineral density (BMD), suggesting that GH overexpression has adverse effects on skeletal architecture and strength. We used giant bovine GH (bGH) transgenic mice to analyse the effects of high serum GH levels on BMD, architecture and mechanical strength. Five month-old hemizygous male bGH mi...

It has long been known that osteoarthritis induces dramatic structural changes in subchondral bone. Studies on patients’ biopsies have also shown that the new sclerotic bone is hypomineralized and has decreased elastic modulus. Due to their amenability for genetic studies, murine models of OA are particularly important for drug target discovery. However, whilst osteosclerosis has been reported also in murine OA models, little is known about the compositional and mechanica...