Iron accumulation induces osteoporosis by disrupting Wnt signaling pathway

Abstract

The specimens of femur from wild-type mice(WT) of 6 months and Hepcidin-knockout(KO) mice of 6 months(iron accumulation model) were obtained for Micro-CT examination. Western blot and co-immunoprecipitation were used to detect the changes of related parameters in Wnt signaling pathway. Compared with wild-type mice, the bone mass in Hepcidin-KO mice was significantly decreased, the binding of β-catenin to FOXO3a increased, and binding of β-catenin to TCF4/TCF7L2 decreased in bone tissue, without significant changes in the expression of β-catenin, TCF4/TCF7L2, and FOXO3a. These results suggest that iron accumulation may affect bone formation through interfering with canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, finally leading to osteoporosis. Key words: Iron accumulation; Osteoporosis; Wnt signaling pathway