Hormone infusion may aid osteoporosis
Wednesday April 13th 2022
A hormone treatment may stimulate bone-forming cells, bringing hope for improved osteoporosis treatments, according to a new study.
In tests, the kisspeptin protein was found to increase the activity of osteoblasts, or bone-forming cells.
Infusions of kisspeptin were given to 26 healthy men at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and parameters of bone health were monitored. Specifically, the researchers examined the protein osteocalcin, made by osteoblasts.
Reporting in the *Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism*, the researchers say: "Kisspeptin administration to healthy men increased osteoblast activity, as evidenced by a 20.3% maximal increase in total osteocalcin and 24.3% maximal increase in carboxylated osteocalcin levels."
They also found that kisspeptin infusions improved bone marrow activity in 12 male blood donors and eight patients undergoing hip replacement surgery.
They write: "Collectively, these data provide the first human evidence that kisspeptin promotes osteogenic differentiation of osteoblast progenitors and inhibits bone resorption in vitro.
"Furthermore, kisspeptin acutely increases the bone formation marker osteocalcin but not resorption markers in healthy men. Kisspeptin could therefore have clinical therapeutic application in the treatment of osteoporosis."
Researcher Dr Alexander Comninos said: “In the clinical study, we showed that kisspeptin can, very quickly, stimulate the activity of bone-forming cells. By using only a quick infusion, we also showed that this stimulation is independent of any effect on reproductive hormones as the men’s testosterone didn’t change within that time.”
He added: “Most existing treatments we have for osteoporosis tend to eventually either inhibit both types of bone cells or increase activity in both types of bone cells, because of the way the cells communicate.
"But with our laboratory study, kisspeptin appears to increase bone-forming activity and at the same time inhibit the bone-destroying activity."
Comninos, A. N. et al. Acute Effects of Kisspeptin Administration on Bone Metabolism in Healthy Men. *Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism* 4 March 2022; doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgac117
Tags: Elderly Health | Pharmaceuticals | Rheumatology | UK News
Printer
friendly page