Differences in osteogenic and apoptotic genes between osteoporotic and osteoarthritic patients.
BACKGROUND
Osteoporosis is a metabolic disorder characterized by a reduction in bone mass and deterioration in the microarchitectural structure of the bone, leading to a higher risk for spontaneous and fragility fractures.The main aim was to study the differences between human bone from osteoporotic and osteoarthritic patients about gene expression (osteogenesis and apoptosis), bone mineral density, microstructural and biomechanic parameters.


METHODS
We analyzed data from 12 subjects: 6 with osteoporotic hip fracture (OP) and 6 with hip osteoarthritis (OA), as the control group. All subjects underwent medical history, analytical determinations, densitometry, histomorphometric and biochemical study. The expression of 86 genes of osteogenesis and 86 genes of apoptosis was studied in pool of bone samples from patients with OP and OA by PCR array.


RESULTS
We observed that most of the genes of apoptosis and osteogenesis show a decrease in gene expression in the osteoporotic group in comparison with the osteoarthritic group. The histomorphometric study shows a lower bone quality in the group of patients with hip fractures compared to the osteoarthritic group.


CONCLUSIONS
The bone tissue of osteoporotic fracture patients is more fragile than the bone of OA patients. Our results showed an osteoporotic bone with a lower capacities for differentiation and osteoblastic activity as well as a lower rate of apoptosis than osteoarthritic bone. These results are related with structural and biochemical parameters.
Bone Metabolism Unit, Internal Medicine, Virgen Macarena University Hospital, Avda, Dr, Fedriani s/n, 41009, Sevilla, Spain. merce_giner@yahoo.es
Mercè
M
Giner
Ma José
MJ
Montoya
Ma Angeles
MA
Vázquez
Cristina
C
Miranda
Ramón
R
Pérez-Cano
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D015519:Bone Density; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006620:Hip Fractures / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015207:Osteoarthritis, Hip / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010012:Osteogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction