The in vivo observations have indicated that at the remodeling sites of bone, the spreading area or shape of preosteoblasts is confined by the mineralized matrix. But it remains unknown whether this spreading confinement regulates the differentiation or apoptosis of osteoblasts. In the present study, osteoblast-like cells (MC3T3-E1) were seeded on micropatterned islands with different area and ...

Osteoblast apoptosis plays an important role in bone development and maintenance, and is in part responsible for osteoporosis in sex steroid deficiency, glucocorticoid excess, and aging. Although Bcl2 subfamily proteins, including Bcl2 and Bcl-XL, inhibit apoptosis, the physiological significance of Bcl2 in osteoblast differentiation has not been fully elucidated. To investigate this, we examin...

We recently reported that the pharmacological inhibition of calcineurin (Cn) by low concentrations of cyclosporin A increases osteoblast differentiation in vitro and bone mass in vivo. To determine whether Cn exerts direct actions in osteoblasts, we generated mice lacking Cnb1 (Cn regulatory subunit) in osteoblasts (DeltaCnb1(OB)) using Cre-mediated recombination methods. Transgenic mice expres...

Osteoclasts develop from monocyte-macrophage lineage cells under the regulation of osteoblasts. Osteoblasts express two cytokines essential for osteoclastogenesis, macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-KappaB ligand (RANKL). Osteoblasts also produce osteoprotegerin (OPG), a decoy receptor for RANKL, which inhibits the interaction between RANKL and...

Notch signaling has been shown to be important in osteoblast differentiation. Therapeutic radiation has been shown to alter the skeletal system, yet little information is available on the changes in Notch signaling in irradiated osteoblasts. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of radiation therapy with 2 and 4 Gy on Notch signaling...

OBJECTIVE Osteoblasts arise from multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) present in the bone marrow stroma and undergo further differentiation to osteocytes or bone cells. Many factors such as proteins present in the Wnt signaling pathway affect osteoblast differentiation. ROR2 is an orphan tyrosine kinase receptor that acts as a co-receptor in the non-canonical Wnt signaling pathway. However...

miR-34s keep osteoblasts bone idle T he development of bone-forming osteoblasts is controlled by transcription factors such as Runx2, Osterix, and ATF4, which, in turn, are regulated by a variety of nuclear proteins that inhibit or activate these factors. miRNAs have also been implicated in osteoblast differentiation, though little is known about the effects of individual miRNAs on skeletogenes...

FGF gets in your bones nt-mediated differentiation of bone precursors gets shut down, say Mansukhani et al. on page 1065, if there is too much FGF receptor (FGFR) activity. Bones form through the maturation of osteoblasts. This process is disrupted in the skulls of patients with activating mutations in FGFR1 and FGFR2. The new evidence suggests that FGF counteracts differentiation by blocking W...

Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is required for osteoblast differentiation from mesenchymal progenitors during endochondral bone formation. However, the role of Hh signaling in differentiated osteoblasts during adult bone homeostasis remains to be elucidated. We found that in the postnatal bone, Hh signaling activity was progressively reduced as osteoblasts mature. Upregulating Hh signaling selectively...

Bone is a dynamic organ that, once formed, undergoes constant remodeling process that includes bone resorption and synthesis. Osteoclasts osteoblasts are primarily responsible for controlling this process. X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1), transcription factor, affects the metabolism of bones in various ways. In recent years, numerous studies have revealed XBP1 plays vital role metabolism, includ...