Fig. 5.
Schematic representation of the plausible role of rs7501812 in the pleiotropic modulation of BMD and lean mass. The G-allele from rs7501812 upregulates the expression of SREBF1 both in skeletal muscle and bone. This overexpression would be expected to result in higher levels of the active form of SREBP-1. SREBP-1 exerts opposite effects on bone and muscle biogenesis. While it promotes osteoblast mineralization45, it inhibits myoblast differentiation44, 46. Ultimately, this modulation would result in higher BMD and lower lean mass, as we observed in our bivariate GWAS analysis