Alterations of bone mineral metabolism of children with different cell lineage types of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia under chemotherapy.

Background: Children with haematological malignancies such as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) may have alteration of bone mineral metabolism therefore increased risk for osteopenia and osteoporosis.

Patients And Methods: The purpose of this study was to examine the alterations of bone mineral metabolism in two groups of children (n=42) according to immunophenotyping (B-cell type, T-cell type) both quantitative (bone mineral density z-scores) and qualitative (serum osteocalcin - OC and carboxyl-terminal telopeptide of human type I collagen - ICTP) during diagnosis (T=0), after the intensified chemotherapy period (T=0.5) and the consolidation period (T=1).

Adipogenesis and osteoblastogenesis: trans-differentiation in the pathophysiology of bone disorders.

Mesechymal stem cells as pluripotent cells are involved in the differentiation of adipocytes under regulation of genes and transcription factors. The plasticity observed between adipocytes and osteoblasts differentiation is the basis of transdifferentiation, observed in both experimental and clinical level. This review analyzes not only the adipose tissue as an endocrine organ but also the underlying mechanism of trans-differentiation between adipocytes and osteoblasts.