AUTHOR CONTACT:
Paul J. Bryce
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Phone: (312) 503-0077; Fax: (312) 503-0078; E-mail: p-bryce@northwestern.edu.

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=26150

BONE BIOLOGY

Peptide inhibitor may prevent bone loss in osteoporosis

Two molecules known as RANK and TNFR promote the differentiation of osteoclasts cells that are responsible for the breakdown of bone. This process occurs in healthy individuals as part of the constant renewal of the bone that makes up our skeleton, and it occurs at an increased rate in individuals with diseases such as osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and periodontal disease. A site on TNFR that is critical for the binding of activating molecules is also conserved, in part, on RANK. In a study appearing online on May 4 in advance of print publication in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Roland Baron and colleagues from Yale University School of Medicine show that mimicking a critical loop of TNFR and RANK with a small cyclic peptide allows the inhibition of RANK ligandinduced bone breakdown and resorption in mouse models of osteoporosis. The authors used molecular modeling to demonstrate the exact region where the peptide binds and interferes with RANK signaling. These findings pave the way for the development of new strategies for designing peptide as well as nonpeptide inhibitors of RANK ligandinduced osteoclast-mediated bone loss, which is a key pathway in the mechanisms at work in many bone and joint diseases.

TITLE: A TNF receptor loop peptide mimic blocks RANK ligandinduced signaling, bone resorption, and bone loss

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Roland Baron
Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
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Contact: Brooke Grindlinger
press_releases@the-jci.org
212-342-9006
Journal of Clinical Investigation
4-May-2006