CKIP-1 knockout offsets osteoporosis induced by simulated microgravity.

Casein kinase 2-interacting protein 1 (CKIP-1) is a negative regulator for bone formation. CKIP-1 knockout (KO) mice are very important for research on countermeasures to bone loss induced by space microgravity. Under simulated microgravity, the bone metabolism of CKIP-1 KO mice was different than that of wild-type (WT) mice. Many experiments all showed that the KO mice had significantly enhanced ossification in the tail suspension conditions, and the differences were closely related to the time the mice were exposed to the microgravity environment. Our results reveal the effect of CKIP-1 on the regulation of bone metabolism and osteogenesis in vivo and the ability of this gene to offset osteoporosis, and they suggest an approach to the treatment of osteoporosis induced by microgravity in space.