Publications by authors named "Conaway H"

A deleterious effect of elevated levels of vitamin A on bone health has been reported in clinical studies. Mechanistic studies in rodents have shown that numbers of periosteal osteoclasts are increased, while endocortical osteoclasts are simultaneously decreased by vitamin A treatment. The present study investigated the in vitro and in vivo effect of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), the active metabolite of vitamin A, on periosteal osteoclast progenitors.

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Osteoporosis is a significant health problem, with skeletal fractures increasing morbidity and mortality. Excess glucocorticoids (GC) represents the leading cause of secondary osteoporosis. The first phase of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis is increased bone resorption.

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Glucocorticoid (GC) therapy decreases bone mass and increases the risk of fractures. We investigated interactions between the GC dexamethasone (DEX) and the bone resorptive agents 1,25(OH)-vitamin D (D3) and parathyroid hormone (PTH) on osteoclastogenesis. We observed a synergistic potentiation of osteoclast progenitor cell differentiation and formation of osteoclasts when DEX was added to either D3- or PTH-treated mouse bone marrow cell (BMC) cultures.

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The gp130 family of cytokines signals through receptors dimerizing with the gp130 subunit. Downstream signaling typically activates STAT3 but also SHP2/Ras/MAPK pathways. Oncostatin M (OSM) is a unique cytokine in this family since the receptor (OSMR) activates a non-redundant signaling pathway by recruitment of the adapter Shc1.

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Cryptococcal infections are caused by encapsulated fungi Cryptococcus gattii and C. neoformans. Inhalation commonly causes innocuous colonization but may cause meningitis or disseminated disease via hematogenous spread.

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Excess vitamin A has been associated with decreased cortical bone thickness and increased fracture risk. While most studies in rodents have employed high dosages of vitamin A for short periods of time, we investigated the bone phenotype in mice after longer exposure to more clinically relevant doses. For 1, 4 and 10 weeks, mice were fed a control diet (4.

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Increased intake of vitamin A (retinoids) is associated with decreased bone mass and increased fracture risk in humans. Mechanistic studies in rodents have shown that hypervitaminosis A results in decreased bone mass caused by an increase in periosteal osteoclasts while simultaneously decreasing endocortic osteoclasts. In vivo and ex vivo bone organ cultures have demonstrated that excess retinoids increase osteoclast formation due to increased receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B-ligand (RANKL) expression.

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Neuroendocrine tumors in gastrointestinal (GI) tract are a rare source of GI malignancy with an estimated incidence of 2.5 - 5 per 100,000 people per year and the prevalence of 35 per 100,000. In the GI tract, they are located in decreasing order of frequency in appendix, ileum, rectum, stomach, and colon.

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Glucocorticoid (GC) therapy is the greatest risk factor for secondary osteoporosis. Pathogenic mechanisms involve an initial increase in bone resorption followed by decreased bone formation. To gain a better understanding of the resorptive activity of GCs, we have used mouse bone marrow macrophages (BMM) to determine if GCs can directly modulate RANKL stimulated osteoclast formation and/or activity.

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Vitamin A (retinol) is a necessary and important constituent of the body which is provided by food intake of retinyl esters and carotenoids. Vitamin A is known best for being important for vision, but in addition to the eye, vitamin A is necessary in numerous other organs in the body, including the skeleton. Vitamin A is converted to an active compound, all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), which is responsible for most of its biological actions.

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Vitamin A (retinol) is ingested as either retinyl esters or carotenoids and metabolized to active compounds such as 11-cis-retinal, which is important for vision, and all-trans-retinoic acid, which is the primary mediator of biological actions of vitamin A. All-trans-retinoic acid binds to retinoic acid receptors (RARs), which heterodimerize with retinoid X receptors. RAR-retinoid X receptor heterodimers function as transcription factors, binding RAR-responsive elements in promoters of different genes.

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Cytokines produced by inflammatory or resident mesenchymal cells play important modulatory roles in the pathogenesis of inflammation induced bone loss. In the present study, the effects of IL-4 and IL-13 on the expression of three osteotropic cytokines in the IL-6 family expressed in human gingival fibroblasts were studied. IL-4Rα and IL-13Rα1 mRNA were constitutively expressed in human gingival fibroblasts.

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Increased vitamin A (retinol) intake has been suggested to increase bone fragility. In the present study, we investigated effects of retinoids on bone resorption in cultured neonatal mouse calvarial bones and their interaction with glucocorticoids (GC). All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), retinol, retinalaldehyde, and 9-cis-retinoic acid stimulated release of (45)Ca from calvarial bones.

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Whether vitamin A promotes skeletal fragility, has no effect on fracture rate, or protects against bone loss is unclear. In the present study, effects of retinoids on osteoclast differentiation in cultured mouse bone marrow cells (BMCs), bone marrow macrophages (BMMs), spleen cells, and RAW264.7 cells were evaluated by analyzing osteoclast formation and expression of genes important in signal transduction and osteoclast function.

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In the present study, dexamethasone treatment of neonatal mouse calvarial bones increased mRNA expression of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, calcitonin receptor (CTR), cathepsin K, carbonic anhydrase II, osteoprotegerin (OPG), and receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB (RANK) as well as mRNA and protein expression of RANK ligand (RANKL). The increase in OPG mRNA noted with dexamethasone was in contrast to 1,25(OH)(2)-vitamin D3 (D3) treatment, which decreased OPG expression. Stimulation of (45)Ca release by dexamethasone and hydrocortisone in calvariae was blocked by OPG.

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Interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 are cytokines that inhibit bone resorption. Data showing an inhibitory effect of IL-4 and IL-13 on RANK mRNA in mouse calvariae were first reported at the 22nd American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Meeting (Lerner, U.H.

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Dosage-dependent release of 45Ca was observed from prelabeled mouse calvarial bones after treatment with two thiazolidinediones, troglitazone and ciglitazone. Release of 45Ca by ciglitazone was decreased by the osteoclast inhibitors acetazolamide, calcitonin, 3-amino-1-hydroxypropylidene-1,1-bisphosphonate, and IL-4, but not affected by the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma antagonist, GW 9662, the mitotic inhibitor, hydroxyurea, or indomethacin. Enhanced expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL) mRNA and protein and decreased osteoprotegerin (OPG) mRNA and protein were noted after ciglitazone treatment of calvariae.

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IL-6, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), and oncostatin M (OSM) are IL-6-type cytokines that stimulate osteoclast formation and function. In the present study, the resorptive effects of these agents and their regulation of receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL), RANK, and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were studied in neonatal mouse calvaria. When tested separately, neither human (h) IL-6 nor the human soluble IL-6R (shIL-6R) stimulated bone resorption, but when hIL-6 and the shIL-6R were combined, significant stimulation of both mineral and matrix release from bone explants was noted.

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Interleukin-11 (IL-11) is a stromal cell-derived cytokine that can enhance osteoclast formation and stimulate bone resorption. In the present study, the characteristics of the resorptive effect of IL-11 in mouse calvarial bones were investigated. Both recombinant mouse IL-11 and human IL-11 caused concentration- and time-dependent stimulations of (45)Ca release from prelabeled mouse calvariae.

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Differential effects on in vitro bone resorption were observed when the glucocorticoids, hydrocortisone and dexamethasone, were added to neonatal mouse calvariae treated with either parathyroid hormone (PTH), 1,25(OH)2-vitamin D3, all trans-retinoic acid (t-RA), or prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Bone resorption was assessed by analyzing either the release of 45Ca from [45Ca]CaCl2 prelabeled calvarial bones or the release of 3H from [3H]proline prelabeled calvariae. At PGE2 concentrations of 3 x 10(-8) and 3 x 10(-7) mol/l, co-treatment with either 10(-6) mol/l dexamethasone or 10(-6) mol/l hydrocortisone caused additive 45Ca release from neonatal mouse calvariae.

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The thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), were found to enhance both neonatal mouse calvarial bone resorption and pit formation on bovine slices by isolated rat osteoclasts. Dosage-dependent release of 45Ca from mouse calvarial bones was observed after 120 hr of culture with 10(-6)-10(-8) MT4 and 10(-6)-10(-10) M T3. Maximum treatment/control ratios of 45Ca release were recorded for 10(-7) M T4 and 10(-8) MT3.

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In vitro stimulation of bone resorption was observed with the glucocorticoids hydrocortisone and dexamethasone. Dosage-dependent release of 45Ca from neonatal mouse calvarial bones was found for both steroids, with half-maximal responses for hydrocortisone and dexamethasone of 0.3 and 0.

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