Publications

Abstract Decreased physical activity in mammals increases bone turnover and uncouples bone formation from bone resorption, leading to hypercalcemia, hypercalcuria, bone loss and increased fracture risk. Black bears, however, are physically inactive for up to 6 months annually during hibernation without losing cortical or trabecular bone mass. Bears have been shown to preserve trabecular bone volume […]

Abstract OBJECTIVE Cathepsin K plays essential roles in bone resorption and is intensely investigated as a therapeutic target for the treatment of osteoporosis. Hence an assessment of the active form of cathepsin K may provide important biological information in metabolic bone diseases, such as osteoporosis or ankylosing spondylitis. METHODS Presently there are no robust assays […]

Abstract The female predominance of polyarticular osteoarthritis (OA), and in particular the marked increase of OA in women after the menopause points to a likely involvement of female sex hormones in the maintenance of cartilage homeostasis. This perception has inspired many research groups to investigate the role of estrogens in the modulation of cartilage homeostasis […]

Abstract OBJECTIVE To evaluate changes in biochemical markers of bone metabolism in response to tocilizumab in patients with anti-tumor necrosis factor-refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS RADIATE was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group phase 3 trial. C-reactive protein, osteocalcin (OC), C-terminal telopeptides of type-I collagen (C-terminal telopeptides of type-1 collagen (CTX-I) and type-I collagen degradation product), […]

Abstract Osteoclasts are known to be important for the coupling process between bone resorption and formation. The aim of this study was to address when osteoclasts are anabolically active. Human monocytes were differentiated into mature osteoclasts by treatment with M-CSF and RANKL. Conditioned medium was collected from macrophages, pre-osteoclasts, and mature functional or non-resorbing osteopetrotic […]

Abstract OBJECTIVE Calcitonin is well-known for its inhibitory actions on bone-resorbing osteoclasts and recently potential beneficial effects on cartilage were shown. We investigated effects of salmon calcitonin (sCT) on the articular cartilage and bone, after destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) in normal and sCT over-expressing mice. DESIGN Bone phenotype of transgenic (TG) C57Bl/6 mice […]

Abstract Monitoring bone turnover of the adult and aging skeleton is essential for optimal treatment of bone metabolic diseases, such as postmenopausal osteoporosis. Diagnosis of osteoporosis is based solely on dual-emission x-ray absorptiometry-based measurements of bone mineral density. However, within the last 20 years, biochemical markers of bone turnover have been implemented to a larger […]

Abstract Bone development is dependent on the functionality of three essential cell types: chondrocytes, osteoclasts and osteoblasts. If any of these cell types is dysfunctional, a developmental bone phenotype can result. The bone disease osteopetrosis is caused by osteoclast dysfunction or impaired osteoclastogenesis, leading to increased bone mass. In ClC-7 deficient mice, which display severe […]

Abstract BACKGROUND Osteoarthritis (OA) involves changes in both bone and cartilage. These processes might be associated under some circumstances. This study investigated correlations between bone and cartilage degradation in patients with OA as a function of sex, Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) score, Body Mass Index (BMI), oral salmon calcitonin (sCT) treatment and diurnal variation. METHODS This study […]

Abstract The success in biomedical sciences such as genomics and proteomics is not paralleled in the medical product development methods. The consequence of this is a lack of translation into improved drug safety and efficacy. Therefore the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) introduced the Critical Path Initiative in 2004 to modernize drug development and […]