Korean scientists clarified the mechanism of a protein controlling cells
closely related to osteoporosis, a disease prevalent among elderly women.
A research team, headed by Prof. Kim Hong-hee and Prof. Chang Eun-ju at the
School of Dentistry of Seoul National University, claimed in an article
published Sunday in the Web site of Nature Medicine that a specific protein
called CK-B regulates activation of osteoclasts, cells which absorb and
destroy bone tissue.
CK-B and other enzymes facilitate the formation of the destructive cells,
which means restricting the protein can cut the risk of bone damage, it
said.
In experiments, mice showed a reduced loss of bone tissue when researchers
mutated their genes so they produce less CK-B. Those injected with a
restrainer of the protein also showed much less bone damage.
Osteoporosis is a disease leading to an increased risk of fractures as the
mineral density of the bones is reduced, as its micro-architecture is
disrupted and the amount and variety of non-collagenous proteins is also
altered.
Bone density remains at equilibrium in human bodies when its formation by
osteoblasts and destruction by osteoclasts are equal. An imbalance, however,
leads to bone problems, including osteoporosis.
The condition is a growing problem in South Korea, which is slowly becoming
an aging society.
There are thought to be up to 2 million sufferers in South Korea, most of
them post-menopausal women. Cases of osteoporosis in 2003 have grown over
ten-fold since 1995, according to the National Health Insurance Corporation
data.
Calls for new treatments have been steadily rising lately, as there are
problems with existing medicines.
Prof. Kim said the study is the first to shed light on the link between
osteoclast formation and the CK-B protein.
"The result is meaningful in that it suggests a possible new target in
developing bone-related cures by revealing the controlling mechanism of
bones' activation and destruction," Kim said.
