Composition for Bone

About

Summary: Bone disorders such as osteoporosis, a disease of severe bone loss, affect an estimated 10 million Americans and causing two million pathological fractures per year. Osteoporosis results from an imbalance between bone formation and resorption. This balance depends on both the number of osteoblastic (OB) and osteoclastic (OC) cells as well as their cellular activity within the bone metabolic unit.  One approach to regulate this balance is to increase levels of Wnt signaling via inactivation of endogenous Wnt inhibitors like Sclerostin (SOST) and DKK-1. This treatment leads to increased OB number and activity, reduced OC number and activity, and a consequent increase in bone mineral density (BMD), as observed in rat, nonhuman primate, and human studies. Positive regulation of the Wnt/β1catenin signaling pathway has emerged as a promising new field for anabolic, anti-osteoclastic therapies in osteoporosis. Therefore, there is a continuing need for methods to activate Wnt signaling for the treatment or prevention of bone disorders.   Innovation: Researchers at UCLA developed a method of controlling the OB/OC ratio using nel-like molecule-1 (NELL-1), a novel osteoinductive growth factor. NELL-1 was shown to facilitate bone regeneration in mice with osteoporosis. NELL-1 was also shown to prevent bone loss in a senile rat model.   Applications: Therapy for bone disorders, particularly osteoporosis, which affects 10 million Americans each year   Advantages: Current treatments on the market have severe side effects  Chronic use of parathyroid hormone has been shown to cause bone neoplasms in rats Bone morphogenetic protein 2 has side effects including ectopic bone formation