USC School of Dentistry researchers uncover benefits of aspirin for
treating osteoporosis
Drug appears to prevent both improper bone resorption and the death
of bone-forming stem cells
(Los Angeles CA) Researchers at the University of Southern
California, School of Dentistry have uncovered the health benefits of
aspirin in the fight against osteoporosis. Forty-four million
Americans, 68 percent of whom are women, suffer from the debilitating
effects of osteoporosis according to the National Institute of
Health. One out of every two women and one in four men over 50 will
have an osteoporosis-
This latest study identifies aspirin's medicinal role on two fronts.
In mice, the drug appears to prevent both improper bone resorption
and the death of bone-forming stem cells. The findings will be
published in PLoS ONE http://www.plosone.
Wednesday, July 9.
An aspirin regimen appears to help mice recover from osteoporosis in
two useful ways, striking a balance between bone formation and
resorption, according to Associate Professor Songtao Shi and Research
Associate Takayoshi Yamaza of the USC School of Dentistry's Center
for Craniofacial Molecular Biology (CCMB).
The silent disease affects both men and women. In women, bone loss is
greatest during the first few years after menopause. Osteoporosis
occurs when bone resorption (loss of bone) occurs too quickly or when
formation (replacement) occurs to slowly.
According to Shi, the removal of the ovaries and the resulting
decrease in estrogen induces osteoporosis in mice, much like the
onset of the disease in post-menopausal women. It is commonly thought
that T-lymphocytes, a type of immune system cell, play a pivotal part
in this process by over-activating osteoclasts, the bone cells that
reabsorb bone material from the skeleton. Most current osteoporosis
therapies aim to curb overactive osteoclasts.
However, there seems to be another side to the T-lymphocytes'
cells', role in osteoporosis, Yamaza says. While the immune cells
typically attack disease cells and other foreign entities, the T-
cells can mistakenly attack healthy stem cells.
"After infusing the mice with T-cells, the T-cells impaired the
function of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells as well as caused
osteoclast numbers to increase," he says.
The bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, or BMMSC, differentiate to
become many different cells including osteoblasts, the cells
responsible for bone formation. If this processed is impaired by T-
cells, bone formation cannot keep up with bone resorption caused by
osteoclasts, and bone mineral density decreases – the hallmark of
osteoporosis that leads to skeletal structural deterioration and
fractures.
An aspirin regimen has been linked in earlier epidemiological studies
to better bone mineral density, but the mechanisms of its
interactions in regards to bone health had not yet been studied
extensively, Shi said.
"We've shown how aspirin both inhibits bone resorption and promotes
osteoblast formation," Shi says.
Another exciting aspect of the aspirin treatment is that the dose
administered to the mice in order to increase their bone mineral
density is the same as that of a typical human aspirin regimen when
adjusted for body weight differences, he adds. While the species
difference is still a factor, the results are promising.
"When we gave a large amount of aspirin to the mouse by injection, it
did not work," Shi says, "but when we gave a low dose in the mice's
water for a long period of time, similar to a human dosage, the bone
mineral density increased."
Shi and Yamaza hope that their work will translate into new clinical
strategies for osteoporosis.
"We have opened a door," Shi says. "We hope other scientists can
confirm what we've found and move the treatment forward."
The use of aspirin offers hope to patients and doctors searching for
a potential alternative to bisphophonates currently being used as a
means of prevention and treatment for osteoporosis. This latest study
opens up the possibility that aspirin some day will not only be
prescribed to ward off heart disease but also osteoporosis.
###
The national and international collaborations for this study included
top scientists; Drs. WanJun Chen, Yanming Bi, Yongzhong Liu, Voymesh
Patel, Silvio Gutkind, Marian Young from NIDCR/NIH, Dr. Yasuo Miura
from Japan, Dr. Stan Gronthos from Australia, Dr. Cun-Yu Wang from
UCLA, and Drs. Kentaro Akiyama, An Le and Wataru Sonoyama from USC,
who present evidence that aspirin fights a dual battle as it pertains
to osteoporosis.
USC's Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology is a research
laboratory located on the Health Sciences Campus of the University of
Southern California in Los Angeles. Administratively, CCMB is part of
the USC School of Dentistry. The laboratory is funded through
multiple research grants, including several from the National
Institutes of Health, under which research is conducted into
development, biochemical and molecular biological aspects of human
development, with a special emphasis on craniofacial structures in
both health and disease. Current investigations include the molecular
etiology of cleft palate, the molecular genetics of tooth development
and lung development in the premature infant.
Public release date: 8-Jul-2008
Contact: Angelica Urquijo
urquijo@usc.
213-740-6568
University of Southern California
http://www.eurekale
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
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Cord Blood Registry
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The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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