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Gerard Karsenty Cell August 9, 2007 Media Coverage
TIME MAGAZINE
A Link Between Bones and Obesity By CLAUDIA WALLIS
August 9, 2007
A team led by Dr. Gerard Karsenty, chairman of the department of genetics and development at Columbia University Medical Center, found that the skeleton plays a powerful role in the regulation of blood sugar and fat deposits. The discovery, made through an elegant series of experiments in mice, could have important implications for treating and preventing type 2 diabetes and obesity — two conditions that are exploding around the globe.
THE ECONOMIST
Skeleton keys
August 9, 2007
Anatomy used to be a straightforward business. But the lines are becoming increasingly blurred. Gerard Karsenty of Columbia University and his colleagues report another such smudging in Cell this week. They have found that people's bones do much more than just provide scaffolding for their floppy innards. They have caught the skeleton behaving as part of the endocrine system, the scheme by which the body uses hormones to signal its needs.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Bones fight obesity, diabetes, study finds By AMBER DANCE
August 9, 2007
A hormone produced in the bones appears to play a role in protecting humans and other animals from obesity and diabetes, according to a report published today in the journal Cell. Its existence has been known for 50 years, "but its function was never understood," said senior author Dr. Gerard Karsenty, a geneticist at Columbia University Medical Center.
BOSTON GLOBE
Surprise: Diabetes clue found in bones By ALICE DEMBNER
August 13, 2007
The work, conducted in mice, has a long way to go before it could be used to help diabetics. But a previous study showed that the substance, called osteocalcin, is found in lower quantities in people with untreated type 2 diabetes, scientists said. "One could hope and certainly we will test if it could be a treatment for type 2 diabetes," said Dr. Gerard Karsenty, senior author of the paper in Cell magazine and chairman of the department of genetics and development at Columbia University Medical Center.
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
Is Bone–Fat Chitchat the Key to Weight Control? By COCO BALLANTYNE
August 9, 2007
A new study shows that the skeleton is also an endocrine organ involved in energy metabolism, and as such may play a role in weight gain and loss … "It's exciting because of the therapeutic implications. There is a novel way of regulating glucose metabolism [that could lead to] a breakthrough in the treatment in type 2 diabetes," says Gerard Karsenty, chair of the genetics and development department at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City and lead author of the study published in the journal Cell.
BBC NEWS
Bones offer new hope for diabetes
August 10, 2007
Bones may play a more active role than previously thought in regulating the body's chemistry, scientists say. An international team found the molecule osteocalcin, produced by bone cells, is active in helping to regulate blood sugar levels in mice. Lead author Professor Gerard Karsenty of the Columbia University said: "Osteocalcin has been known since 1977 to be made by osteoblast cells, but it had no known function." But the authors found osteocalcin boosted both the secretion and the sensitivity to insulin.
NATURE.COM
Not just a bunch of bones By DANIEL CRESSEY
August 9, 2007
The traditional view of the skeleton as an inert frame is challenged by a new study showing that it also plays an important part in the body's hormonal system. Cells in the bone produce a hormone that influences blood sugar levels and fat deposition. "I was surprised by the extent of the discovery," says Gerard Karsenty, lead author on the paper and an expert in skeletal development at Columbia University in New York. "It seems the skeleton acts as a rheostat, regulating metabolism."
CANADIAN PRESS, CTV NEWS
Bones may help control insulin levels By SHERYL UBELACKER
August 10, 2007
Researchers at Columbia University in New York have discovered that certain bone cells produce a hormone called osteocalcin, which controls the metabolism of blood sugar (glucose) and fat deposits through previously unknown mechanisms. "It is very exciting conceptually because it's a new function for an organ," senior author Dr. Gerard Karsenty said …
THE SCIENTIST, UK
Endocrine role for skeleton By AMY COOMBS
August 9, 2007
The skeleton functions as a part of the endocrine system and plays a role in regulating energy metabolism in the body, according to a study published this week in Cell. The researchers showed that osteocalcin, a protein secreted by bone cells, regulates insulin production and insulin sensitivity in the body, answering a long-standing question about the protein's function. "Osteocalcin has been the flagship molecule of the bone field for decades," said Gerard Karsenty of the Columbia University Medical Center, the study's lead author.
SCIENCE DAILY
Skeleton Is An Endocrine Organ, Crucial To Regulating Energy Metabolism
August 10, 2007
"The discovery that our bones are responsible for regulating blood sugar in ways that were not known before completely changes our understanding of the function of the skeleton and uncovers a crucial aspect of energy metabolism," said Gerard Karsenty, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University Medical Center, Paul Marks Professor in the Basic Sciences, and senior author of the paper. "These results uncover an important aspect of endocrinology that was unappreciated until now."
SCIENCENOW DAILY NEWS
Not Just Meat Scaffolding By KRISTA ZALA
August 9, 2007
Gerard Karsenty, a geneticist at Columbia University, showed that fat cells regulate bone mass, for example, by releasing the hormone leptin, which affects the number of bone-building osteoblast cells…Because osteocalcin is secreted by one organ and acts on others, it fits the definition of a hormone, says Karsenty, making bones part of the endocrine system. The findings could have important implications for the treatment of diabetes.
MEDPAGE TODAY
Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes May Be Bred in the Bone By NEIL OSTERWEIL
August 9, 2007
In a study of mice, bone-generating osteoblasts secreted osteocalcin, a hormone-like protein that protects against obesity and glucose intolerance by increasing proliferation of pancreatic beta cells and insulin secretion, reported Gerard Karsenty, M.D., Ph.D., of Columbia University, and colleagues. Simultaneously it boosted insulin sensitivity.
SCIENCE NEWS
Skeletal Discovery: Bone Cells Affect Metabolism By PATRICK BARRY
August 11, 2007
New research in mice shows that bone cells exert a surprising influence on how the body regulates sugar, energy, and fat. The team announcing the finding, led by Gerard Karsenty of Columbia University, had previously found that fat cells secrete a hormone that influences bone-forming cells called osteoblasts. Because hormone regulation between two cell types is often reciprocal, Karsenty and his team reasoned that osteoblasts might also be emitting hormones that control fat tissue.
CBC NEWS
Bones Play Key Role in Diabetes: Study
August 10, 2007
"What this study shows is that [the skeleton] is a lively organ that has a function to regulate the biology of the other organs in the body, such as the pancreas and insulin secretion, and fat and insulin sensitivity," Dr. Gerard Karsenty, chair of the department of genetics and development at Columbia University Medical Center and the study's lead author, told CBC News.
MEDICAL NEWS TODAY
The Skeleton Is Part Of The Endocrine System, New Study
August 13, 2007
An international team of scientists has discovered that bone plays an important role in controlling sugar metabolism, energy balance and weight, suggesting the skeleton is actually a member of the endocrine system. The finding adds a surprising and unexpected footnote to our understanding of metabolism and may lead to new ways to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes.
DAILYINDIA.COM, ZEE NEWS, NEWS KERALA, THE HINDU, ASIAN NEWS INTERNATIONAL
Skeleton is an endocrine organ
August 10, 2007
The skeleton, the frame of bones that supports a human or animal body, is an endocrine organ that helps control sugar metabolism and weight, and a major determinant of the development of type 2 diabetes, say researchers at Columbia University Medical Center. "These results uncover an important aspect of endocrinology that was unappreciated until now," said senior author of the study, Dr. Gerard Karsenty, Chair of the Department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University Medical Center.
CORRIERE DELLA SERA (Italy)
August 17, 2007
Bone Protein May Protect From Diabetes
212-305-3900
Masthead photos: Gerard Karsenty
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