Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and UC Davis have discovered a hormone that keeps breastfeeding women’s bones strong and may also help heal fractures.
The new study sought to solve the mystery of how women’s bones remain intact even as they lose calcium to produce milk. Although estrogen levels are low, “osteoporosis and bone fractures are much less common,” according to a news release, suggesting something other than estrogen is at play.
Previously, lead author Dr. Holly Ingraham and colleagues, studying female mice, blocked an estrogen receptor in neurons in a small area of the brain, and their bone mass increased. They thought the strong bones were related to a hormone in the blood, but they couldn’t find it.
After an “exhaustive search,” they finally identified CCN3, a hormone that behaved differently from others secreted by neurons.
“The idea that a hormone can be secreted directly from the brain is a new concept in endocrinology. Our findings leave us wondering whether other hormones are secreted from so-called brain windows in response to changing physiological demands, such as lactation.”
According to the press release, they were able to locate CCN3 in the same brain region in lactating female mice, but not the receptor, so far.
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In the absence of this hormone, lactating female mice lost bone mass and the pups also lost weight. This confirmed how vital this hormone is, so they named it maternal brain hormone (MBH).
By increasing the level of CCN3 in female and male mice, their bone mass and strength improved within weeks and dramatically. Remarkably, CCN3 doubled the amount of bone mass in very old and estrogen-deprived female mice, they write InterestingEngineering.
Dr. Thomas Ambrosi, a collaborator on the project, went on to say that highly mineralized bones are not always better because they can become weaker and break more easily. However, “when we tested these bones, they turned out to be much stronger than usual.”
When he examined stem cells in bone, responsible for regeneration, he found that when exposed to CCN3, they supported the production of new bone cells. Thus, they concluded that CCN3 could help heal bones.
They created a hydrogel patch and attached it to the bone fracture so it could slowly release CCN3 over two weeks. Bone fractures in old mice don’t normally heal easily or well, but the CCN3 patch helped the bone regenerate.
“We’ve never been able to achieve this kind of mineralization and healing result with any other strategy,” Ambrosi said.
200 million people suffer from osteoporosis
The researchers now plan to continue studying the molecular mechanisms of CCN3 in lactating women and its potential to treat bone conditions. No side effects have yet been found, the researchers told IE. However, once they identify the receptor for CCN3, they can study which tissues and which type of cells might be affected by this hormone.
Given that more than 200 million people worldwide suffer from osteoporosis, which is classified as a weakened bone structure, making them susceptible to fractures, postmenopausal women are at particularly high risk.
A drop in estrogen levels was thought to be the cause, which is true. However, during breastfeeding, researchers have found this loophole, as they do not lose bone mass. So they found the hormone that they can apply now to help women later in life.
But this study also supports breast cancer survivors who must take hormone blockers, female athletes, and older men who, statistically, have a lower survival rate than women after a hip fracture.
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Source: www.descopera.ro
