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Rebuilding Bones

Compounds identified that stimulate bone regrowth

25 January 2021

Rebuilding Bones

The old saying goes, “I can feel it in my bones”. But when it comes to osteoporosis, most people can't feel it until a seemingly minor bump or fall causes their brittle bones to fracture. Currently, osteoporosis is treated by preventing further bone breakdown. Now researchers investigate whether bone could be rebuilt using specific peptides (short bits of proteins). Bone-building cells arise from osteogenic progenitor cells. So the team screened for peptides that bound to these cells and triggered their maturation into bone-building cells. The winners were YLL3 and YLL8. These peptides were injected into normal mice and mice mimicking osteoporosis. In both cases, bone strength, bone formation and bone mass increased, as revealed by comparing micro-CT images of porous bones (pictured) in normal mice injected with saline (left), YLL3 (middle) or YLL8 (right). More research is now needed to investigate the potential of these peptides as osteoporosis therapies.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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