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. 2021 Oct;36(10):1979-1998.
doi: 10.1002/jbmr.4389. Epub 2021 Jul 27.

Anabolic actions of PTH in murine models: two decades of insights

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Anabolic actions of PTH in murine models: two decades of insights

Laura E Zweifler et al. J Bone Miner Res. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is produced by the parathyroid glands in response to low serum calcium concentrations where it targets bones, kidneys, and indirectly, intestines. The N-terminus of PTH has been investigated for decades for its ability to stimulate bone formation when administered intermittently (iPTH) and is used clinically as an effective anabolic agent for the treatment of osteoporosis. Despite great interest in iPTH and its clinical use, the mechanisms of PTH action remain complicated and not fully defined. More than 70 gene targets in more than 90 murine models have been utilized to better understand PTH anabolic actions. Because murine studies utilized wild-type mice as positive controls, a variety of variables were analyzed to better understand the optimal conditions under which iPTH functions. The greatest responses to iPTH were in male mice, with treatment starting later than 12 weeks of age, a treatment duration lasting 5-6 weeks, and a PTH dose of 30-60 μg/kg/day. This comprehensive study also evaluated these genetic models relative to the bone formative actions with a primary focus on the trabecular compartment revealing trends in critical genes and gene families relevant for PTH anabolic actions. The summation of these data revealed the gene deletions with the greatest increase in trabecular bone volume in response to iPTH. These included PTH and 1-α-hydroxylase (Pth;1α(OH)ase, 62-fold), amphiregulin (Areg, 15.8-fold), and PTH related protein (Pthrp, 10.2-fold). The deletions with the greatest inhibition of the anabolic response include deletions of: proteoglycan 4 (Prg4, -9.7-fold), low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (Lrp6, 1.3-fold), and low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (Lrp5, -1.0-fold). Anabolic actions of iPTH were broadly affected via multiple and diverse genes. This data provides critical insight for future research and development, as well as application to human therapeutics. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Keywords: ANABOLIC; BONE ANABOLISM; GENETIC ANIMAL MODELS; PARATHYROID-RELATED DISORDERS; PTH.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Timeline of gene targeted mouse models of PTH anabolic actions in bone. Abbreviation: PTH, parathyroid hormone.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Trabecular bone response in WT mice. (AF) Trabecular bone volume is graphed for vehicle‐treated (x axis) and PTH‐treated (y axis) WT mice. Each plot stratifies a different variable, including (A) sex, (B) bone site analyzed, (C) duration (days per week of treatment), (D) age at the start of treatment, (E) duration (weeks of treatment), or (F) dose of treatment. Linear regression of the slope was analyzed for each group and compared within a variable. The p values are reported in the charts under each graph, and correspond to the analysis between the column and row headers (i.e., in (A), the slope of the line for male and female has a p‐value of 0.0011). (G) Control trabecular bone volume in WT mice and the FC of trabecular bone volume in response to PTH in WT mice is plotted. The AIC is a statistical predictor of error between two models, and was used to confirm an inverse exponential relationship between control bone volume and the FC in bone volume with PTH in WT mice. Abbreviations: AIC, Akaike Information Criterion; PTH, parathyroid hormone; WT, wild‐type; FC, fold change.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
FC of PTH‐/control‐treated trabecular bone volume per total volume per targeted gene model. The response to PTH treatment in gene targeted murine models was calculated using the bone volume FC in mutant mice relative to the FC of control treated mice. The x axis lists the targeted gene. Some genes are listed multiple times, each of which represents a different study or cohort of animals listed in Table 2. If there was no change between control and genetically modified treated animals, the FC is 1, indicated by the marked line. Abbreviations: FC, fold change; PTH, parathyroid hormone.

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