Bone Research · 12 authors, 5 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
Using fate-mapping in Axin2CreERT2 mice, this preclinical study showed that dietary restriction increased Axin2+ chondroprogenitor numbers in the resting zone while inhibiting their differentiation, and that restored nutrition enabled these pooled cells to rapidly resume differentiation, contributing to catch-up growth. Exogenous IGF-1 partially restored phosphorylated Akt and stimulated differentiation of accumulated chondroprogenitors.
This preclinical study used fate-mapping analysis in Axin2CreERT2;R26R-ZsGreen mice to investigate how nutrient availability regulates chondroprogenitor behavior in the postnatal growth plate. Dietary restriction (DR) increased the number of Axin2+ chondroprogenitors in the resting zone while simultaneously inhibiting their differentiation into proliferative chondrocytes. Upon nutritional recovery, accumulated chondroprogenitors immediately resumed differentiation and formed chondrocyte columns at an accelerated rate, contributing to catch-up growth. The authors further demonstrated that nutrient deprivation reduced phosphorylated Akt levels in the resting zone and that exogenous IGF-1 partially restored this signaling and stimulated differentiation of pooled chondroprogenitors. However, IGF-1 treatment did not rescue DR-induced growth plate shortening or the increased cell cycle entry of chondroprogenitors, indicating IGF-1 is not the sole pathway mediating nutrient-induced catch-up growth.
