Finally, an in vivo study showed that reduced P2X7 receptor function aggravates estrogen-withdrawal-induced bone loss, which is in line with the growing number of reports cementing the association between P2X7 receptor polymorphisms and development of osteoporosis and fracture risk.
We therefore identified a factor, the purinergic receptor P2X5 that is highly expressed during the OC maturation phase, and which we show here plays no apparent role in early bone development and homeostasis, but which is required for osteoclast-mediated inflammatory bone loss and hyper-multinucleation of OCs.
This is the first report that describes association of the c.946A (p.Arg307Gln) LOF SNP with low LS-BMD, and that other LOF SNPs, which result in reduced or no function of the P2X7 receptor, may contribute to accelerated bone loss.