Deletion of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha9 in mice resulted in altered bone structure

Alterations in bone strength and structure were found in knockout (KO) mouse strains with deletion of several acetylcholine receptors. Interestingly, the expression of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) subunit α10 was down-regulated in osteogenic differentiated mesenchymal stem cells of patients with osteoporosis whereas the expression of subunit α9 was not altered. Since nAChR subunits α9 and α10 are often combined in a functional receptor, we analyzed here the bone of adult female KO mice with singl e deletion of either nAChR alpha9 (α9KO) or alpha10 (α10KO).

Source: Bone - November 7, 2018 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Lisa Baumann, Vivien Kauschke, Anna Vikman, Lutz D ürselen, Gabriela Krasteva-Christ, Marian Kampschulte, Christian Heiss, Kathleen T. Yee, Douglas E. Vetter, Katrin Susanne Lips Tags: Full Length Article Source Type: research