Individuals undergoing treatment with glucocorticoids can develop glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP), which is characterized by progressive bone loss and an increased risk of fracture that correlates with low bone mineral density. Osteocytes have a crucial role in bone remodelling and reports suggest that inducing mechanical stress in osteocytes could increase bone marrow density and therefore improve GIOP. A study has now investigated the role of Piezo1, a mechanosensitive ion channel involved in osteocyte sensing of mechanical stress, in the pathogenesis of GIOP.

Both Piezo1 and the lacuno-canaliculi network (LCN) are reduced in osteocytes from individuals with GIOP; similarly, in a mouse model of GIOP, expression of Piezo1 in osteocytes is reduced; however, treating these mice with the Piezo1 agonist Yoda1 prevented Piezo1 loss and detrimental alterations to bone structure and fragility. Administration of Yoda1 also reversed the loss of the mechanical stress response in osteocytes from GIOP mice.