Disease relevance of Nell1

• While both BMP-7 and Nell-1 induced similar bone formation in the distracted suture, BMP-7 induced both chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation, while Nell-1 accelerated chondrocyte hypertrophy and endochondral bone formation [1].

High impact information on Nell1

• Conversely, downregulation of Nell-1 inhibited osteoblast differentiation in vitro [2].
• RESULTS: In this report, we further showed that overexpression of Nell-1 induced apoptosis along with modulation of apoptosis-related genes [3].
• We studied the cellular function of Nell-1, a craniosynostosis-related gene, in craniofacial development [3].
• The induction of apoptosis by Nell-1 was observed only in osteoblastic cells and not in NIH3T3 or primary fibroblasts [3].
• The CS mouse model overexpressing Nell-1 showed increased levels of apoptosis in the calvaria [3].

Biological context of Nell1

• Nell-1 induced bone formation within the distracted intermaxillary suture [1].
• Nell-1 is a secreted molecule that possesses chordin-like domains and induces cranial suture bone growth and osteoblast differentiation [1].

Anatomical context of Nell1

• On a cellular level, Nell-1 expression may modulate and be both sufficient and required for osteoblast differentiation [2].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Nell1

• Distracted palates of 4-week-old male rats were maintained in an organ culture system, and tissue was either unstimulated or stimulated with Nell-1 or BMP-7 for 8 days [1].
• We also showed that Nell-1 was expressed in rat calvarial osteoprogenitor cells and was largely absent in rat tibiae and fibroblast cell cultures [4].

References