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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