A team of scientists of the ATPBone project, the largest European bone biology and osteoporosis research project, was able to demonstrate that physical activity and other stimuli to the bones induce the release of the biochemical compound ATP, which compound regulates bone turnover through action on the so-called purinergic receptors, which have been shown to be present on bone cells. Findings from EU-funded research have demonstrated how the exercise prevents osteoporosis and it could lead to new treatments for osteoporosis sufferers.

A team of scientists of the ATPBone ('Fighting osteoporosis by blocking nucleotides: purinergic signalling in bone formation and homeostasis') project, which received nearly three million of funding under the 'Health' Theme of the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), has demonstrated that physical activity and other stimuli to the bones induce the release of the biochemical compound ATP. This biochemical compound regulates bone turnover through action on the so-called purinergic receptors, which have been shown to be present on bone cells. Findings from EU-funded research into the mechanisms behind the beneficial effects of exercise on bones could lead to new treatments for osteoporosis sufferers.

The scientists discovered how the exercise prevents osteoporosis and that treating bone cells with parathyroid hormone, which is produced in the human body and is also used by doctors for treatment of severe osteoporosis, induces an increased release of ATP upon mechanical stimulation and that ATP and parathyroid hormone interact on the receptors. This means that the locally acting purinergic signalling system could interact with hormone systems in the body. Niklas Rye Jørgensen, coordinator of the ATPBone project and researcher from Glostrup Hospital and Copenhagen University says that this finding is a potent system through which they can potentially prevent or even treat osteoporosis.

The scientists of the largest European bone biology and osteoporosis research project ever carried out within its field, ATPBone, investigated how bone tissue is maintained and how specific biochemical signal molecules regulate the degradation of bone as well as the formation of new bone.