Human genetic evidence demonstrates that WNT1 mutations cause osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) and early-onset osteoporosis, implicating WNT1 as a major regulator of bone metabolism.
Cohort comprised mutation-positive (N = 13; age 17-76 years) and mutation-negative (N = 13; 16-77 years) subjects from two Finnish families with autosomal dominant WNT1osteoporosis due to a heterozygous missense mutation c.652T>G (p.C218G) in WNT1.
Altogether, 12 mutation-positive (MP) subjects (median age, 39 years; range, 11 to 76 years) and 12 mutation-negative (MN) subjects (35 years; range, 9 to 59 years) from two Finnish families with WNT1osteoporosis due to the heterozygous p.C218GWNT1 mutation.
The identification of Wnt1 as a regulator of bone formation and remodeling provides the basis for development of Wnt1-targeting drugs for the treatment of osteoporosis.
Patients carrying homozygous WNT1 mutations have more frequent fractures while heterozygous carriers of the mutation in WNT1 gene are also found to have early onset osteoporosis.
Collectively, our data suggest that WNT1-related OI and osteoporosis are caused in part by decreased mTORC1-dependent osteoblast function resulting from loss of WNT1 signaling in osteocytes.
The implication of WNT1 in the control of bone formation identifies a potential new target for the treatment of low bone mass disorders, such as osteoporosis.
To evaluate the relationship between osteocyte-specific protein expression and bone histology in patients with monogenic osteoporosis due to wingless integration site 1 (WNT1) or plastin 3 (PLS3) mutations.
Here we report clinical findings of the WNT1osteoporosis in 8 children and young adults (median age 14 years; range 10 to 30 years) in two families, all with the p.C218G mutation in WNT1.
These observations suggest that more effective treatment approaches are needed for children with recessive WNT1-related bone fragility and that a systematic work-up for osteoporosis is warranted for WNT1 mutation carriers in these families.