[Anti-sclerostin antibody : its bone formation effect and therapeutic potential for osteoporosis]

In a rare accident of nature, some families have been found to have dense and strong bones due to a recessive loss of function mutation in the SOST gene that encodes for sclerostin, a protein expressed by osteocytes that downregulates osteoblastic bone formation. Knowledge of this molecule and its actions led rather quickly to the development of anti-sclerostin antibodies that lead to marked increases in bone mass in both animals and human subjects. Blocking sclerostin action with anti-sclerostin antibodies is a promising new therapeutic approach to osteoanabolic therapy of osteoporosis.