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Newly discovered ‘Sprouty’ protein may benefit patients with osteoporosis

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A newly discovered protein has been shown to regulate body fat and bone mass, according to a Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) press release.

Investigators from the Maine Medical Center Research Institute in Scarborough, Maine, are experimenting with the protein, “Sprouty,” and their results could have implications for obese patients and patients with osteoporosis, diabetes, osteoarthritis and heart disease. Their findings were published in the FASEB Journal.

Manipulation of protein expression

To make their discovery, the investigators studied two groups of transgenic mice, one group with a genetic deletion of the Sprouty gene in cells that develop into fat and bone, and the second group with high levels of expressed Sprouty proteins in the same cell types, according to the release.

Results showed that the mice with the deleted Sprouty gene had increased body fat and loss of bone mass similar to osteoporosis as compared to normal mice. Bone loss was then reversed in those mice by increasing Sprouty protein levels. The investigators found that increased protein expression resulted in the mice becoming leaner and stronger. Furthermore, they found that increased protein expression in mice with low Sprouty levels resulted in weight loss and increased bone density, the release noted.

Future applications

“Our study provides insight into the regulation of bone mass and body fat,” Lucy Liaw, PhD, co-author of the study, stated in the release. “Therefore, future application of this knowledge may help treat common conditions such as bone loss and obesity.”

Gerald Weissmann, MD, editor-in-chief of the FASEB Journal, stated in the release, “When the U.S. military has to turn to fitness gurus like Tony Horton to help its soldiers slim down, you know obesity is a serious problem; and all you have to do is visit a nursing home to see the devastating effects of osteoporosis. ‘Sprouty’ —well named — gets to the roots of extra fat and shrinking bone.”

Reference:

Sumithra U. FASEB. 2010;(24):3264-3273.

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