Piezo1 expression in chondrocytes controls endochondral ossification and osteoarthritis development

Piezo proteins are mechanically activated ion channels, which are required for mechanosensing functions in a variety of cell types. While we and others have previously demonstrated that the expression of Piezo1 in osteoblast lineage cells is essential for bone-anabolic processes, there was only suggestive evidence indicating a role of Piezo1 and/or Piezo2 in cartilage. Here we addressed the question if and how chondrocyte expression of the mechanosensitive proteins Piezo1 or Piezo2 controls physiological endochondral ossification and pathological osteoarthritis (OA) development. Mice with chondrocyte-specific inactivation of Piezo1 (Piezo1Col2a1Cre), but not of Piezo2, developed a near absence of trabecular bone below the chondrogenic growth plate postnatally. Moreover, all Piezo1Col2a1Cre animals displayed multiple fractures of rib bones at 7 days of age, which were located close to the growth plates. While skeletal growth was only mildly affected in these mice, OA pathologies were markedly less pronounced compared to littermate controls at 60 weeks of age. Likewise, when OA was induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection, only the chondrocyte inactivation of Piezo1, not of Piezo2, resulted in attenuated articular cartilage degeneration. Importantly, osteophyte formation and maturation were also reduced in Piezo1Col2a1Cre mice. We further observed increased Piezo1 protein abundance in cartilaginous zones of human osteophytes. Finally, we identified Ptgs2 and Ccn2 as potentially relevant Piezo1 downstream genes in chondrocytes. Collectively, our data do not only demonstrate that Piezo1 is a critical regulator of physiological and pathological endochondral ossification processes, but also suggest that Piezo1 antagonists may be established as a novel approach to limit osteophyte formation in OA

Housing allowances in comparative perspective

OTB Research Institut

Eigen woning in de EG: Fiscale en overige financiele instrumenten

OTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen

Pathways of Dutch and German Social Renting

The pathways that Dutch and German housing policies took in the past decades resulted in two different rental markets. The Dutch policies have delivered the largest social rental sector in the Western world, while Germany has produced one of the largest private rental sectors in Europe. The latter implies that officially no social rental sector is operating in Germany, but a private rental sector where some suppliers of housing are temporarily subsidized. Social rental dwellings in the Netherlands are owned by non-profit organizations, whose public task is to provide affordable housing for those in need. Even though the systems of social renting are different, both countries had moved from providing affordable rental housing to large segments of the population to a more targeted system and from a nationally implemented to a more locally implemented housing policy. In the past decade, the Netherlands has been limiting the supply of social rental housing, while Germany has offered extra subsidies to increase the supply of affordable housing.Housing Institutions & Governanc

Kosten en Uitgaven van Eigenaar-Bewoners - Een fiscaal-economische vergelijking tussen West-Europese landen

Architectur

Secure occupancy in rental housing: A comparative analysis. Country case study: Germany

This research had been carried out at request of the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).OTB ResearchOTB Research Institute for the Built Environmen

EU-SILC: Should We Make Do with What We Have?

In this Briefing Paper the focus is on the EU-SILC and on the questions: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the pan-European data set EU-SILC, which stands for ‘European Union Statistics of Income and Living Conditions’? How useful is this database when making international housing comparisons? The examples in this paper are based on my experience with the EU-SILC and explore a number of themes such as setting universal norms for all countries and differences in data requirements between housing and poverty research. My conclusion is that some of these topics transcend the database evaluation and are concerned with the definition of concepts. As long as there are no ‘better’ data alternatives, we need to make do with what we have, but should do so carefully and transparentlyOTBArchitecture and The Built Environmen

Affordable rental housing producted by private rental landlords

Paper written as part of the project on "Boosting the supply of affordable rented housing: learning from other countries" by Centre for Comparative Housing Research De Montfort University, Leicester, UK & Places for People, London, UK. This contribution aims to provide information on approaches that have been used in different countries to boost affordable private rental housing supply and on the success of these measures in terms of providing supply that otherwise would not have been realised.OTBArchitecture and The Built Environmen

Huurwoningmarkt: Meer of minder particuliere huurwoningen?

Woningschaarste zorgt al een aantal jaren voor een crisis op de woningmarkt. De groei van de woningvoorraad houdt geen gelijke tred met de groei van het aantal huishoudens. Ook lukt het niet jaarlijks 100.000 woningen bij te bouwen. Het almaar groeiende woningtekort en de relatief lage rente zorgen voor sterke prijsstijgingen in de koopsector. Vooral starters en huishoudens tot een middeninkomen zoeken daarom noodgedwongen hun heil in de particuliere huursector. In het Verenigd Koninkrijk en Ierland bestaat deze constellatie al langer. Wat vertellen die landen ons? En wat mogen we verwachten van de uitbreiding van de huurregulering naar het middenhuur-segment?Urban Development Managemen

Appendix 3 Germany

OLD Housing System