TY - JOUR
T1 - Osteocyte lacunar properties and cortical microstructure in human iliac crest as a function of age and sex
AU - Bach-Gansmo, Fiona Linnea
AU - Brüel, Annemarie
AU - Jensen, Michael Vinkel
AU - Ebbesen, Ebbe Nils
AU - Birkedal, Henrik
AU - Thomsen, Jesper Skovhus
N1 - Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Osteocytes are suggested to play a central role in bone remodeling. Evaluation of iliac crest biopsies is a standard procedure for evaluating bone conditions in the clinical setting. Despite the widespread use of such biopsies, little is known about the population of osteocytes in the iliac crest from normal individuals. Contradicting results have been reported on osteocyte lacunar properties in human bone. Hence, a solid understanding of the osteocyte population in healthy bone and the effect of age and sex is needed as good reference data are lacking. Furthermore, the role of cortical bone in bone quality has recently been suggested to be more important than previously realized. Therefore, the present study assesses osteocyte lacunar properties and cortical microstructure of the iliac crest as a function of age and sex. A total of 88 iliac crest bone samples from healthy individuals (46 women, aged 18.5–96.4 years and 42 men, aged 22.6–94.6 years) with an even age-distribution were examined using synchrotron radiation μCT and in house μCT, with > 5 × 10
6 osteocyte lacunae measured and analyzed. The study revealed that osteocyte lacunar volumes were unaffected by both age and sex. Osteocyte lacunar density did not differ between women and men, and only showed a significant decrease with age when pooling data from both sexes. Cortical porosity and Haversian canal density increased while cortical thickness decreased with age, with cortical thinning dominating the age-related cortical bone loss. None of the cortical microstructural parameters showed any sex dependency. Only weak links between osteocyte lacunar properties and cortical microstructural properties in iliac crest bone were found. Interestingly, the Haversian canal diameters were significantly but weakly negatively correlated with osteocyte lacunar volumes.
AB - Osteocytes are suggested to play a central role in bone remodeling. Evaluation of iliac crest biopsies is a standard procedure for evaluating bone conditions in the clinical setting. Despite the widespread use of such biopsies, little is known about the population of osteocytes in the iliac crest from normal individuals. Contradicting results have been reported on osteocyte lacunar properties in human bone. Hence, a solid understanding of the osteocyte population in healthy bone and the effect of age and sex is needed as good reference data are lacking. Furthermore, the role of cortical bone in bone quality has recently been suggested to be more important than previously realized. Therefore, the present study assesses osteocyte lacunar properties and cortical microstructure of the iliac crest as a function of age and sex. A total of 88 iliac crest bone samples from healthy individuals (46 women, aged 18.5–96.4 years and 42 men, aged 22.6–94.6 years) with an even age-distribution were examined using synchrotron radiation μCT and in house μCT, with > 5 × 10
6 osteocyte lacunae measured and analyzed. The study revealed that osteocyte lacunar volumes were unaffected by both age and sex. Osteocyte lacunar density did not differ between women and men, and only showed a significant decrease with age when pooling data from both sexes. Cortical porosity and Haversian canal density increased while cortical thickness decreased with age, with cortical thinning dominating the age-related cortical bone loss. None of the cortical microstructural parameters showed any sex dependency. Only weak links between osteocyte lacunar properties and cortical microstructural properties in iliac crest bone were found. Interestingly, the Haversian canal diameters were significantly but weakly negatively correlated with osteocyte lacunar volumes.
KW - Age
KW - Cortical bone
KW - Iliac crest
KW - Nano-CT
KW - Osteocyte lacunae
KW - Osteocytes
KW - Sex
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84978250992&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.bone.2016.07.003
DO - 10.1016/j.bone.2016.07.003
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 27397700
SN - 8756-3282
VL - 91
SP - 11
EP - 19
JO - Bone
JF - Bone
ER -