Abstract:Osteoporosis, the progressive loss of bone mass resulting in fragility fractures, affects ~ 75 million people in the United States, Europe and Japan. Bone mineral density (BMD) correlates with fracture risk and is widely used in clinical settings to predict fracture. Numerous studies have demonstrated that peak bone mass is highly heritable and consequently a number of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been conducted to identify the genes that regulate BMD. Traditional intercross mapping in the mous… Show more
“…The skeletal phenotypes of mice and humans are comparable both physiologically and anatomically. Micro-CT, digital X-ray microradiography and other techniques enable the characterization of the skeletal structure of mice [26,27]. An important advantage of the mouse model is the high homology between its genome and the human genome, which enables functional studies of human genes in this model [25].…”
Section: Animal Models In the Studies Of Skeletal Diseasesmentioning
Genetic factors play a substantial role in the etiology of skeletal diseases, which involve 1) defects in skeletal development, including intramembranous ossification and endochondral ossification; 2) defects in skeletal metabolism, including late bone growth and bone remodeling; 3) defects in early developmental processes related to skeletal diseases, such as neural crest cell (NCC) and cilia functions; 4) disturbance of the cellular signaling pathways which potentially affect bone growth. Efficient and high-throughput genetic methods have enabled the exploration and verification of disease-causing genes and variants. Animal models including mouse and zebrafish have been extensively used in functional mechanism studies of causal genes and variants. The conventional approaches of generating mutant animal models include spontaneous mutagenesis, random integration, and targeted integration via mouse embryonic stem cells. These approaches are costly and time-consuming. Recent development and application of gene-editing tools, especially the CRISPR/Cas9 system, has significantly accelerated the process of gene-editing in diverse organisms. Here we review both mice and zebrafish models of human skeletal diseases generated by CRISPR/Cas9 system, and their contributions to deciphering the underpins of disease mechanisms.
“…The skeletal phenotypes of mice and humans are comparable both physiologically and anatomically. Micro-CT, digital X-ray microradiography and other techniques enable the characterization of the skeletal structure of mice [26,27]. An important advantage of the mouse model is the high homology between its genome and the human genome, which enables functional studies of human genes in this model [25].…”
Section: Animal Models In the Studies Of Skeletal Diseasesmentioning
Genetic factors play a substantial role in the etiology of skeletal diseases, which involve 1) defects in skeletal development, including intramembranous ossification and endochondral ossification; 2) defects in skeletal metabolism, including late bone growth and bone remodeling; 3) defects in early developmental processes related to skeletal diseases, such as neural crest cell (NCC) and cilia functions; 4) disturbance of the cellular signaling pathways which potentially affect bone growth. Efficient and high-throughput genetic methods have enabled the exploration and verification of disease-causing genes and variants. Animal models including mouse and zebrafish have been extensively used in functional mechanism studies of causal genes and variants. The conventional approaches of generating mutant animal models include spontaneous mutagenesis, random integration, and targeted integration via mouse embryonic stem cells. These approaches are costly and time-consuming. Recent development and application of gene-editing tools, especially the CRISPR/Cas9 system, has significantly accelerated the process of gene-editing in diverse organisms. Here we review both mice and zebrafish models of human skeletal diseases generated by CRISPR/Cas9 system, and their contributions to deciphering the underpins of disease mechanisms.
“…At an average of 10 genes per Mb, 24 this equates to over 600 candidate genes, on average, per QTL. 25 As a result, the use of the two-strain, two-generation cross has started to fall out of favor for forward genetics studies. These two-strain populations are increasingly being replaced by studies using outbred populations of mice and rats.…”
Section: Types Of Genetic Studies Conductedmentioning
Population-and family-based studies have established that fragility fracture risk is heritable; yet, the genome-wide association studies published to date have only accounted for a small fraction of the known variation for fracture risk of either the femur or the lumbar spine. Much work has been carried out using animal models toward finding genetic loci that are associated with bone strength. Studies using animal models overcome some of the issues associated with using patient data, but caution is needed when interpreting the results. In this review, we examine the types of tests that have been used for forward genetics mapping in animal models to identify loci and/or genes that regulate bone strength and discuss the limitations of these test methods. In addition, we present a summary of the quantitative trait loci that have been mapped for bone strength in mice, rats and chickens. The majority of these loci co-map with loci for bone size and/or geometry and thus likely dictate strength via modulating bone size. Differences in bone matrix composition have been demonstrated when comparing inbred strains of mice, and these matrix differences may be associated with differences in bone strength. However, additional work is needed to identify loci that act on bone strength at the materials level.
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