Cystic Fibrosis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Cystic Fibrosis, including details on symptoms, genetics, treatment, information.

Persistent osteopenia in adult cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator-deficient mice.

Haston CK, Li W, Li A, Lafleur M, Henderson JE

Meakins-Christie Laboratories, 3626 rue St. Urbain, Montreal, PQ, H2X 2P2 Canada. christina.haston@mcgill.ca

RATIONALE: A loss of function mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene is believed to be an independent risk factor for bone disease in patients with cystic fibrosis. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this work was to use congenic mice as a preclinical model to examine the bone phenotype of Cftr(-/-) mice and control littermates at 8, 12, and 28 weeks of age. METHODS: The bone phenotype of control and Cftr(-/-) mice was evaluated by quantitative imaging, histologic and histomorphometric analyses, and serum levels of bone biomarkers. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: At 12 weeks of age, Cftr(-/-) mice were smaller, had lower bone mineral density, cortical bone thinning, and altered trabecular architecture compared with Cftr(+/+) or Cftr(+/-) control mice. In skeletally mature 28-week-old mice, there were persistent deficits in cortical and trabecular bone structure in Cftr(-/-) mice despite significant, quantifiable improvements. Cftr(-/-) mice also had lower serum insulin-like growth factor-I levels at 12 weeks of age than did control mice, whereas parathyroid hormone and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: Persistent osteopenia and structural abnormalities in adult Cftr(-/-) mice, in the absence of overt respiratory and gastrointestinal disease, suggest that loss of Cftr function has a direct impact on bone metabolism in Cftr(-/-) mice that is not sex specific or subject to haplotype insufficiency.

Published 25 January 2008 in Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 177(3): 309-15.
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