Mechanical properties of femoral bones from muscarinic (M3) and nicotinic (alpha7) receptor knockout mice

Abstract

Osteoporosis affects a quarter of the elderly population of whom the majority are women who suffer from postmenopausal osteoporosis (Häussler et al. 2007, Osteoporos Int 18, 77–84). The disease is defined by a decrease in bone mass, weakened microarchitecture and therefore an increased risk of fracture. One of the risk factors is cigarette smoking and nicotine is an agonist of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). We focused on the α7-nAChR because it is highly permeable for calcium ions. In bone half of the extracellular matrix consists of calcium hydroxyapatite crystals.