A new study points to a key bone-strengthening mechanism at work in the body, which could be targeted to treat the bone-weakening disease, osteoporosis .

The study, led by researchers from the University of Leipzig in Germany and Shandong University in China, identified the cell receptor GPR133 (also known as ADGRD1) as being crucial to bone density, via bone-building cells called osteoblasts .

Variations in the gene had previously been linked to bone density, leading researchers to turn their attention to the protein it encoded.

The team ran tests on mice in which the gene was either absent or could be activated using a chemical called AP503. In the absence of the gene, the mice grew up with weak bones, resembling the symptoms of osteoporosis . However, when the receptor was pr

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