Researchers have discovered a new hormone that could be a breakthrough in treating osteoporosis, a debilitating disease that causes fragile bones.
More than 200 million people worldwide suffer from osteoporosis, a disease that weakens bones and causes frequent fractures. Women are especially at risk after menopause due to lower levels of estrogen, which helps bone formation. Interestingly, despite lower estrogen levels during breastfeeding, the bones of breastfeeding women remained strong even as they lost calcium in the milk, suggesting another factor may be promoting bone growth.
Researchers at UCSF and UC Davis have uncovered a mystery in mouse studies: a maternal brain hormone (CCN3) increases bone density and strength in female mice. result study Published in Nature.
Researchers had earlier found that blocking specific estrogen receptors in certain brain neurons led to a significant increase in bone mass in female mice. Suspecting a blood hormone, the researchers searched and identified CCN3 as the key factor.
Although CCN3 does not look like a typical neuron-secreted hormone, its presence in the brains of lactating female mice confirms its role. The researchers noted that without CCN3, lactating mice experienced bone loss and their babies lost weight. Researchers now call CCN3 mother brain hormone (MBH).
“One of the noteworthy things about these findings is that if we had not studied female mice (which is unfortunately the norm in biomedical research), then we might have missed this finding altogether. It underscores the importance of studying female mice importance. Press Releases.
When the researchers increased CCN3 levels in young adult mice and old mice, their bone mass and strength increased significantly within weeks. In some female mice that had no estrogen or were very old, CCN3 more than doubled their bone mass.
“In some cases, highly mineralized bones are not better; they may be more brittle and actually break more easily. But when we tested these bones, it turned out that they were much stronger than usual,” the project said. said scientific collaborator Thomas Ambrosi.
The researchers also observed that bone stem cells were more likely to generate new bone cells when exposed to CCN3. To understand whether CCN3 helps bone healing, the researchers developed a hydrogel patch that slowly releases CCN3 at the fracture site. Normally, fractures in older mice struggle to heal, but the CCN3 patch promoted the growth of new bone at the fracture site, making the healing process more youthful.
“We have never been able to achieve these mineralization and healing results with any other strategy. We are really excited to follow up and potentially apply CCN3 to other problems, such as cartilage regeneration,” Ambrosi said.