Cortisol Enhances the Expression of mac25/Insulin-Like Growth Factor-Binding Protein-Related Protein-1 in Cultured Osteoblasts

    January 1999 in “ Endocrinology ”
    Renata C. Pereira, F. Blanquaert, Ernesto Canalis
    TLDR Cortisol increases a specific protein in bone cells, which may help explain its negative effects on bone.
    The study found that cortisol enhanced the expression of mac25/IGFBP-rP1 in osteoblast-enriched cells from 22-day-old fetal rat calvariae, with a time- and dose-dependent increase in mRNA levels observed after treatment with cortisol. This effect was achieved through transcriptional mechanisms, as indicated by nuclear run-on assays, and was not altered by cycloheximide. Other hormones like retinoic acid also increased mac25/IGFBP-rP1 mRNA levels, while 17beta-estradiol, testosterone, and others did not. The increased expression of IGFBP-rP1, which binds IGFs and insulin, could be significant in understanding cortisol's inhibitory effects on bone.
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