T. Xu

TL;DR: This is the first report in which deficiency of a non-collagenous ECM protein leads to a skeletal phenotype that is marked by low bone mass that becomes more obvious with age and may serve as an animal model to study the role of ECM proteins in osteoporosis.

TL;DR: It is reported that bgn deficiency leads to structural abnormality in collagen fibrils in bone, dermis, and tendon, and to a “subclinical” cutaneous phenotype with thinning of the dermis but without overt skin fragility.

TL;DR: The combination of decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis would lead to a deficiency in the generation of mature osteoblasts and would be sufficient to account for the osteopenia developed in the bgn KO mice.

TL;DR: This review outlines the novel research findings uncovered using these new animal models to examine SLRP function, and examines them at the tissue, cell and molecular levels.

TL;DR: These lines of HERKO cells retain several of the phenotypic traits of MSFs after immortalization, including matrix and cytokine production, and provide a valuable source of a unique human material for future studies involving estrogen action in bone and bone marrow metabolism.