Bone Abstracts

About two decades ago, evidence was generated that canonical Wnt signaling plays an important role in bone accrual mainly based on the identification of mutations in genes from the Wnt pathway resulting in extremely low or high bone mass. Since then, it became clear that genetic variation in a lot of genes from this pathway have an influence on bone mass both in a number of skeletal dysplasias as well as in the general population. This is the case for a number of wnt ligands (...

Biographical DetailsWim Van HulWim Van Hul is full professor of Molecular biology and genetics at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He obtained a bachelor degree in Chemistry from the University of Louvain (Belgium) and a master degree in biochemistry. He obtained his PhD on molecular genetics in 1993 from the University of Antwerp. He started his...

The murine osteoprogenitor cell line, KS483 (Percuros, The Netherlands) is a well-established model for investigation of osteoblast differentiation and bone formation processes. The mesenchymal characteristics of this cell line allow it to differentiate into either adipocytes or mature, mineralizing osteoblasts. Various phases can be distinguished during osteoblast differentiation and maturation; namely proliferation, matrix formation, matrix maturation, and mineralization.</p...

Since the identification of LRP5 as the causative gene for the osteoporosis pseudoglioma syndrome (OPPG) as well as the high bone mass (HBM) phenotype, LRP5 and the Wnt/β-catenin signalling have been extensively studied for their role in the differentiation and proliferation of osteoblasts, in the apoptosis of osteoblasts and osteocytes and in the response of bone to mechanical loading. However, more recently the direct effect of LRP5 on osteoblasts and bone formation has...

Recent studies confirmed the role of WNT16 in bone mineral density (BMD), bone strength and fracture risk. These findings made WNT16 interesting for further genetic and functional studies to clarify its effect on osteoporosis related parameters.A WNT16 candidate gene association study was performed in men from the Odense Androgen Study (OAS). Five tagSNPs and one multimarker test were selected for genotyping to cover most of th...

The R-spondins are a family of four small, secreted agonists of the Wnt signaling pathway. Growing evidence from both in vitro studies and in vivo models supports the major role of these proteins in the skeletal development processes. In humans, common genetic variation in the RSPO3 gene has been associated with BMD in large scale GWAS study.This study aimed at further investigation of the genetic and functional contributions of the R-s...