Endocrine Abstracts

The immune system has been recognized as one of the most important regulators of bone turnover and its de-regulation is implicated in several bone diseases as post-menopausal osteoporosis and inflammatory bone loss. The study of the relationship between immune system and bone metabolism is generally indicated under the term ‘osteoimmunology’, the vast majority of these studies have been performed in animal models, however several data have been confirmed also in huma...

The observation that circulating osteocalcin levels double during exercise in young mice suggests that this hormone might be a long sought after endocrine regulator of exercise capacity. We addressed this question by analyzing mice lacking either osteocalcin or its receptor in myofibers only. This analysis showed that osteocalcin signaling in myofibers enhances adaptation to exercise because it increases uptake and utilization of glucose into the tricarboxylic acid cycle and p...

The gut microbiota (GM), the commensal bacteria living in our intestine, performs numerous useful functions, including modulating host metabolism and immune status. Our recent studies demonstrate that the GM is also a regulator of bone mass and we propose that the effect of the GM on bone mass is mediated via effects on the immune system, which in turn regulates osteoclastogenesis. A role of the GM in bone metabolism is further supported by studies demonstrating that antibioti...