Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2010 May;46(5):1226-37.
doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2010.01.382. Epub 2010 Feb 10.

Evidence for pleiotropic factors in genetics of the musculoskeletal system

Affiliations
Review

Evidence for pleiotropic factors in genetics of the musculoskeletal system

David Karasik et al. Bone. 2010 May.

Abstract

There are both theoretical and empirical underpinnings that provide evidence that the musculoskeletal system develops, functions, and ages as a whole. Thus, the risk of osteoporotic fracture can be viewed as a function of loading conditions and the ability of the bone to withstand the load. Both bone loss (osteoporosis) and muscle wasting (sarcopenia) are the two sides of the same coin, an involution of the musculoskeletal system. Skeletal loads are dominated by muscle action; both bone and muscle share environmental, endocrine and paracrine influences. Muscle also has an endocrine function by producing bioactive molecules, which can contribute to homeostatic regulation of both bone and muscle. It also becomes clear that bone and muscle share genetic determinants; therefore the consideration of pleiotropy is an important aspect in the study of the genetics of osteoporosis and sarcopenia. The aim of this review is to provide an additional evidence for existence of the tight genetic co-regulation of muscles and bones, starting early in development and still evident in aging. Recently, important papers were published, including those dealing with the cellular mechanisms and anatomic substrate of bone mechanosensitivity. Further evidence has emerged suggesting that the relationship between skeletal muscle and bone parameters extends beyond the general paradigm of bone responses to mechanical loading. We provide insights into several pathways and single genes, which apparently have a biologically plausible pleiotropic effect on both bones and muscles; the list is continuing to grow. Understanding the crosstalk between muscles and bones will translate into a conceptual framework aimed at studying the pleiotropic genetic relationships in the etiology of complex musculoskeletal disease. We believe that further progress in understanding the common genetic etiology of osteoporosis and sarcopenia will provide valuable insight into important biological underpinnings for both musculoskeletal conditions. This may translate into new approaches to reduce the burden of both conditions, which are prevalent in the elderly population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Diagram of possible action of a gene shared between muscle and bone.

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Ackert-Bicknell CL, Demissie S, Marinde Evsikova C, Hsu YH, DeMambro VE, Karasik D, et al. PPARG by dietary fat interaction influences bone mass in mice and humans. J Bone Miner Res. 2008;23:1398–408. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adams DJ, Spirt AA, Brown TD, Fritton SP, Rubin CT, Brand RA. Testing the daily stress stimulus theory of bone adaptation with natural and experimentally controlled strain histories. J Biomech. 1997;30:671–8. - PubMed
    1. Agoston H, Khan S, James CG, Gillespie JR, Serra R, Stanton LA, et al. C-type natriuretic peptide regulates endochondral bone growth through p38 MAP kinase-dependent and -independent pathways. BMC Dev Biol. 2007;7:18. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Akhter MP, Wells DJ, Short SJ, Cullen DM, Johnson ML, Haynatzki GR, et al. Bone biomechanical properties in LRP5 mutant mice. Bone. 2004;35:162–9. - PubMed
    1. Akter R, Rivas D, Geneau G, Drissi H, Duque G. Effect of lamin A/C knockdown on osteoblast differentiation and function. J Bone Miner Res. 2009;24:283–93. - PubMed

MeSH terms