The gut microbiota regulates bone mass in mice

作者：Klara Sjögren, Cecilia Engdahl, Petra Henning, Ulf H. Lerner, Valentina Tremaroli, Marie K. Lagerquist, Fredrik Bäckhed, Claes Ohlsson · 发表于：Journal of Bone and Mineral Research · 年份：2012 · DOI：10.1002/jbmr.1588 · 被引用次数：820 · 研究领域：Gut microbiota and health、Bone Metabolism and Diseases、MicroRNA in disease regulation

The gut microbiota modulates host metabolism and development of immune status. Here we show that the gut microbiota is also a major regulator of bone mass in mice. Germ-free (GF) mice exhibit increased bone mass associated with reduced number of osteoclasts per bone surface compared with conventionally raised (CONV-R) mice. Colonization of GF mice with a normal gut microbiota normalizes bone mass. Furthermore, GF mice have decreased frequency of CD4(+) T cells and CD11b(+) /GR 1 osteoclast precursor cells in bone marrow, which could be normalized by colonization. GF mice exhibited reduced expression of inflammatory cytokines in bone and bone marrow compared with CONV-R mice. In summary, the gut microbiota regulates bone mass in mice, and we provide evidence for a mechanism involving altered immune status in bone and thereby affected osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. Further studies are required to evaluate the gut microbiota as a novel therapeutic target for osteoporosis.