# Mechanism of action of PTH: New signaling components that regulate bone formation and bone marrow fat

> **NIH NIH R01** · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · 2022 · $562,224

## Abstract

Abstract
Teriparatide (PTH1-34) and Abaloparatide (modified PTHrP1-34) are approved anabolic drugs for the
treatment of osteoporosis, a widespread bone fragility chronic condition linked to aging, with important health
and socio-economic consequences. Osteoporosis and aging involve dysfunctions of cells in bone, often
associated with an increase in bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT). Estrogen deficiency, glucocorticoid
treatment or decreased mechanical loading lower bone mass but also increase BMAT. PTH and WNT
signaling oppose both effects, further suggesting a clinical link between low bone mass and high marrow
adiposity. The maintenance of bone mass is essential for the prevention of osteoporosis and fractures in the
elderly, whereas the consequences of excessive BMAT are still not understood. Because osteoblasts (OBs)
and adipocytes (ADs) share a common precursor in the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) lineage it is thought
that the increase in bone marrow ADs is linked to the decrease in OB differentiation. Moreover, MSCs derived
from bone marrow or from fat are used in bone regeneration, and PTH is now widely used clinically for
fracture healing. The mechanisms by which PTH favors bone at the expense of BMAT and the role of BMAT
reduction in the response of bone to PTH are however not known. Characterization of novel downstream PTH
effectors in MSCs for the OB versus AD cell fate decision and in the crosstalk between PTH and WNT could
have a significant impact on the development or understanding of anabolic osteoporosis treatment as well as
on the use of MSCs for bone regeneration. The proposed work is innovative because it focuses on the anti-
adipogenic responses to PTH/PTHrP treatment and their implication in anabolic responses of the skeleton. The
main goal of this application is to identify the components of the signal transduction machinery that allows
intermittent PTH (iPTH) to promote bone formation and repress BMAT, in order to determine whether
interfering with the anti-adipogenic factor Zfp521 or the pro-adipogenic factors Zfp467 and Zfp423, can
enhance the therapeutic effects of treatment with iPTH, i.e. whether preventing the AD differentiation may
enhance the anabolic effects of iPTH. We will determine whether enhancing (via deletion of the anti-ADgenic
factor Zfp521) or blocking (via deletion of the pro-ADgenic factors Zfp467 or Zfp423) pro-adipogenic signals
downstream of the PPR could impair or favor, respectively, the bone anabolic responses to iPTH treatment. To
this end, we will identify the PPR signaling events that repress adipogenic targets in order to possibly improve
bone anabolic responses by enhancing the anti-adipogenic effects of iPTH. For this reason, and since we have
identified three key regulators of adipogenesis in MSCs, we propose to dissect the signaling pathways
downstream of the PPR that lead to the increased expression of Zfp521 and the repression of Zfp467 and
Zfp423.
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## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10370393
- **Project number:** 5R01AR073774-03
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
- **Principal Investigator:** ROLAND E BARON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $562,224
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-05-05 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10370393

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10370393, Mechanism of action of PTH: New signaling components that regulate bone formation and bone marrow fat (5R01AR073774-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10370393. Licensed CC0.

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