Osteocrin Protein Controls Bone Growth

Filed in archive Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics on December 23, 2007

Researchers have discovered protein that controls bone growth, and thus may be used as the basis for finding treatment for people with bone diseases affecting skeletal growth.

Osteocrin is a small protein produced by the body's bone-forming cells, or osteoblasts. In this study, mice that were genetically engineered to over-express osteocrin developed hunchbacks and elongated bones. This led Dr. Moffatt and his colleagues to the discovery that osteocrin locally controls the bone's supply of a hormone known as CNP, which plays an important role in the regulation of bone growth.

The study has been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

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