The researchers considered the Western-type diet to represent a chronic insult to the mice. When they fed the Western-type diet to the different strains of mice, the knockout mice developed OA and the control mice did not. The knockout mice that consumed the Western-type diet also had a significantly elevated number of adipocytes in their bone marrow relative to controls. The investigators interpreted these results as being consistent with the hypothesis that, in patients with metabolic syndrome, HDL may have a causative relationship to OA. The authors concluded their editorial by suggesting that HDL-directed therapies may be useful for the treatment of bone-related diseases.
Lara C. Pullen, PhD, is a medical writer based in the Chicago area.
Reference
- Papachristou DJ, Blair HC. Bone and high-density lipoprotein: The beginning of a beautiful friendship. World J Orthop. 2016 Feb 18;7(2):74–77. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v7.i2.74. eCollection 2016.