Related Experiment Videos

[Wnt signaling and bone metabolism]

Hiroshi Asaba1, Juro Sakai

  • 1Laboratory for Systems Biology and Medicine, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo.

Clinical Calcium
|May 7, 2005
PubMed

Insights

The Wnt signaling pathway, involving LRP5, is crucial for embryonic development and tumor growth. Discoveries highlight its unexpected role in bone metabolism and development, linked to bone mass regulation.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Genetics

Context:

  • Wnt signaling is vital for embryonic development and tumorigenesis.
  • Frizzled receptors and LRP5 act as Wnt receptors.
  • LRP5 is a member of the LDL receptor family.

Purpose:

  • To investigate the role of LRP5 as a Wnt receptor.
  • To explore the connection between Wnt/LRP5 signaling and bone metabolism.
  • To understand the genetic basis of bone mass regulation.

Summary:

  • LRP5 functions as a Wnt receptor alongside Frizzled receptors.
  • Mutations in the LRP5 gene affect human bone mass.
  • This establishes a significant role for Wnt/LRP5 signaling in bone development.

Impact:

  • Identifies a novel mechanism regulating bone mass.
  • Provides insights into Wnt signaling in skeletal biology.
  • Opens avenues for therapeutic strategies targeting bone diseases.

Related Concept Videos

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which results in tumor...
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways01:41

Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways

Wnt is a zygotic effect gene that is expressed during very early embryonic development. It regulates various processes in animals starting from early development through the adult stage, such as organogenesis in the embryo and maintenance of neuronal and blood stem cells. Wnt proteins can induce a wide variety of intracellular pathways depending upon the specific abilities of different Wnt ligands to form a complex with shared and cognate receptors in the presence of different co-receptors. The...
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways01:41

Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways

Wnt is a zygotic effect gene that is expressed during very early embryonic development. It regulates various processes in animals starting from early development through the adult stage, such as organogenesis in the embryo and maintenance of neuronal and blood stem cells. Wnt proteins can induce a wide variety of intracellular pathways depending upon the specific abilities of different Wnt ligands to form a complex with shared and cognate receptors in the presence of different co-receptors. The...
Hormones and Bone Tissue01:17

Hormones and Bone Tissue

The endocrine system produces and secretes hormones, which interact with the skeletal system. These hormones control bone growth, maintain bone once it is formed, and remodel it.
Hormones That Influence Osteoblasts and/or Maintain the Matrix
Several hormones are necessary for controlling bone growth and maintaining the bone matrix. The pituitary gland secretes growth hormone (GH), which, as its name implies, controls bone growth. This happens in several ways: first, it triggers chondrocyte...
Bone Remodeling01:40

Bone Remodeling

Bone remodeling is a continuous and balanced process of bone resorption by osteoclasts and bone formation by osteoblasts. In adults, it helps maintain bone mass and calcium homeostasis. While mechanical stress can stimulate turnover as part of the normal maintenance and reparative process, several hormones also regulate bone remodeling.
Osteoclasts in Bone Remodeling01:31

Osteoclasts in Bone Remodeling

Osteoclasts are cells responsible for bone resorption and remodeling. They originate from hematopoietic progenitor cells present in the bone marrow. Numerous progenitor cells fuse to form multinucleated cells, each with 10-20 nuclei. A single osteoclast has a diameter of 150 to 200 µM. These cells have ruffled borders that break down the underlying bone tissue and release minerals such as calcium into the blood in bone resorption. Osteoclasts cling to bones with their ruffled edges during bone...