Bone health is usually thought of as something controlled by age, hormones, and what happens inside the bones themselves.
For many years, osteoporosis has been seen mainly as a condition affecting women, especially after menopause. However, men also lose bone strength as they age, and many suffer serious fractures later in life.
Until now, the biological reasons behind bone loss in men have been less clear. New research suggests that the liver, an organ not traditionally linked to bone health, may play a key role, but only in males.
A study led by researchers at McGill University has discovered that a protein produced in the liver helps regulate bone growth in male mice, but not in females.
The research was published in the journal Matrix Biology and points to a previously unrecognized connection between liver health and bone strength. This finding may help explain why men with liver disease are more likely to develop weak bones and osteoporosis.
The protein involved is called plasma fibronectin. It is a natural protein that circulates in the bloodstream and is made mainly by the liver. In healthy individuals, plasma fibronectin helps support tissues throughout the body.
The researchers found that this protein is present at higher levels in males than in females. They also discovered that when the liver is damaged, levels of this protein drop, which may have important consequences for bone health.
The study showed that plasma fibronectin can move from the blood into bone tissue, where it helps regulate how new bone is formed. In male mice, this protein built up in the bone and played an active role in strengthening it.
In females, however, bone growth did not appear to depend on this protein in the same way. This suggests that males rely more heavily on liver-produced fibronectin to maintain strong bones.
To test this idea, the researchers carried out laboratory experiments in which they selectively switched off the gene that produces fibronectin in the liver. This prevented the protein from being released into the bloodstream.
The results were striking. Male mice without liver-derived fibronectin were much less able to build strong bones. Female mice, on the other hand, were largely unaffected by the loss of the protein.
According to senior author Mari Tuulia Kaartinen, an associate professor in McGill’s Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, this discovery may help explain an important clinical observation.
About 60 percent of osteoporosis cases in men are linked to other underlying health conditions rather than aging alone. Liver disease is one of those conditions, and this protein may be one of the biological links connecting liver damage to bone loss in men.
Osteoporosis is often described as a silent disease because bone loss happens gradually and without obvious symptoms. By the time a fracture occurs, significant damage may already be present.
While women are more likely to experience bone loss due to hormonal changes during menopause, men also face a rising risk after the age of 50. However, the causes of bone loss in men have been harder to pinpoint.
This research highlights how diseases can develop differently in males and females. Biological sex influences hormones, metabolism, and how organs communicate with each other.
The findings suggest that treating osteoporosis and bone loss may require different strategies for men and women. Ignoring these differences could lead to less effective prevention and care.
The study also supports a broader shift in how scientists think about osteoporosis. Rather than viewing it as a condition that begins only in the bones, researchers are increasingly recognizing it as a whole-body disease influenced by organs such as the liver.
This wider perspective could open the door to new approaches for identifying people at risk earlier and protecting bone health more effectively.
In reviewing and analyzing the study findings, the results suggest that liver health plays a crucial role in maintaining bone strength in males. The discovery of a sex-specific pathway involving plasma fibronectin helps explain why men with liver disease are more vulnerable to bone loss.
It also shows the importance of studying males and females separately in medical research, rather than assuming the same mechanisms apply to both. While the findings are based on animal models and further research is needed to confirm whether the same process occurs in humans, the study provides a strong biological explanation for patterns already seen in clinical care.
Overall, this research deepens our understanding of osteoporosis and highlights the complex ways different organs work together to maintain bone health. For men, especially those with liver disease, protecting bone strength may depend not only on calcium, exercise, or aging, but also on maintaining a healthy liver.
These insights could eventually lead to more personalized prevention and treatment strategies that reflect the unique biology of each sex.
If you care about liver health, please read studies about simple habit that could give you a healthy liver, and common diabetes drug that may reverse liver inflammation.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about simple blood test that could detect your risk of fatty liver disease, and results showing this green diet may strongly lower non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Copyright © 2026 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
