No longer ‘dead’: Our bones communicate through hormones with brain, other organs

In addition to providing structural support, the skeleton is a versatile conversationalist. Bones make hormones that chat with other organs and tissues, including the brain, kidneys and pancreas, experiments in mice have shown.

“The bone, which was considered a dead organ, has really become a gland almost,” says Beate Lanske, a bone and mineral researcher at Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

…

At least four bone hormones moonlight as couriers, recent studies show, and there could be more…Of the hormones on the list of bones’ messengers — osteocalcin, sclerostin, fibroblast growth factor 23 and lipocalin 2 — the last is the latest to attract attention. Lipocalin 2, which bones unleash to stem bacterial infections, also works in the brain to control appetite…Researchers previously thought that fat cells were mostly responsible for making lipocalin 2, or LCN2. But in mice, bones produce up to 10 times as much of the hormone as fat cells do….

Related on the SLP

Game of Life and Death: Can you dare the odds and make it past 100? Organic milk vs. Conventional milk: Why nutrition expert is ditching organic

‘A new frontier’: Though scorned by RFK Jr., personalized mRNA vaccine offers hope for many suffering from melanoma skin cancer

A ‘shining success’ or ’empty promises’: Two years along, West Virginians assess MAHA’s food promises

Pennsylvania tells doctors to prepare for a surge in newborn measles cases—a complication unseen in decades

Osteocalcin, sclerostin and LCN2 might also be involved in treating diseases someday, if results in animals apply to people.

[Read the full study here]

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Bones make hormones that communicate with the brain and other organs