Enzymatic Processes Decline Increases Risk of Bone Fracture
NEW YORK (Dispatches) -- A loss of enzymatic processes within the body can increase a person’s risk of bone fracture.
An international team of scientists and engineers led by Deepak Vashishth, the director of the
Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
have recently reported their findings.
Enzymatic processes are essential to any number of chemical reactions that occur within the body, including the production of the extracellular matrix within bone that is critical for mechanical support. Phosphorylation -- one of those key enzymatic processes -- is the attachment of a phosphoryl to a protein, and is critical for cellular regulation. This process plays a role in many diseases, but until now, researchers didn’t know if it altered tissue integrity and organ function.
The researchers looked at a protein known as osteopontin, which plays a vital role in holding the matrix together. The researchers developed a process by which they could induce phosphorylation -- or its counterpart, dephosphorylation -- in bones from genetically modified mice, some that had osteopontin and others that did not. By comparing results from the two groups, researchers found that fracture toughness, a measure of bone’s mechanical strength, increased with osteopontin phosphorylation and declined with dephosphorylation.
An international team of scientists and engineers led by Deepak Vashishth, the director of the
Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
have recently reported their findings.
Enzymatic processes are essential to any number of chemical reactions that occur within the body, including the production of the extracellular matrix within bone that is critical for mechanical support. Phosphorylation -- one of those key enzymatic processes -- is the attachment of a phosphoryl to a protein, and is critical for cellular regulation. This process plays a role in many diseases, but until now, researchers didn’t know if it altered tissue integrity and organ function.
The researchers looked at a protein known as osteopontin, which plays a vital role in holding the matrix together. The researchers developed a process by which they could induce phosphorylation -- or its counterpart, dephosphorylation -- in bones from genetically modified mice, some that had osteopontin and others that did not. By comparing results from the two groups, researchers found that fracture toughness, a measure of bone’s mechanical strength, increased with osteopontin phosphorylation and declined with dephosphorylation.