GWAS on the Hunt in Osteoporosis

Researchers have published a large association study in this week's PLoS ONE to find genes linked to hip bone size, which has been identified as one of the key measurable risk factors for hip fractures in osteoporosis. The first such GWAS to look at bone size, the study scanned 380,000 SNPs in 1,000 men and women and identified PLCL1 (phospholipase c-like 1), which had four SNPs associated with hip bone size. Previous studies showed that the PLCL1 protein inhibits IP3 (inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate)-mediated calcium signaling, an important pathway regulating mechanical sensing of bone cells.