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The contribution of bone to whole-organism physiology

Abstract

The mouse genetic revolution has shown repeatedly that most organs have more functions than expected. This has led to the realization that, in addition to a molecular and cellular approach, there is a need for a whole-organism study of physiology. The skeleton is an example of how a whole-organism approach to physiology can broaden the functions of a given organ, reveal connections of this organ with others such as the brain, pancreas and gut, and shed new light on the pathogenesis of degenerative diseases affecting multiple organs.

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Figure 1: Leptin co-regulates appetite and bone mass.
Figure 2: Osteocalcin, a bone-derived multifunctional hormone.
Figure 3: A feedforward loop links insulin, bone resorption and osteocalcin activity.
Figure 4: Interactions between the gastrointestinal tract and bone mass.

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Acknowledgements

We thank T. Clemens, P. Ducy, M. Gershon, M. Kassem, S. Kousteni and members of the Karsenty laboratory for comments on the manuscript. We apologize to our colleagues whose work is not directly discussed and/or cited in this article because of space constraints. G.K. is supported by the National Institutes of Health, and M.F. by the Canadian Diabetes Association.

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Correspondence to Gérard Karsenty.

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Karsenty, G., Ferron, M. The contribution of bone to whole-organism physiology. Nature 481, 314–320 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10763

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