IMR Press / FBL / Volume 13 / Issue 6 / DOI: 10.2741/2819

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Regulation of osteogenic differentiation during skeletal development
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1 Key Laboratory of Diagnostic Medicine designated by Chinese Ministry of Education and the Affiliated Hospitals of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400046, China
2 Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Department of Surgery, The University of Chicago Medical Center, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, MC 3079, Chicago, IL 60637
3 Department of Pathology, The University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60637

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2008, 13(6), 2001–2021; https://doi.org/10.2741/2819
Published: 1 January 2008
Abstract

Bone formation during skeletal development involves a complex coordination among multiple cell types and tissues. Bone is of crucial importance for the human body, providing skeletal support, and serving as a home for the formation of hematopoietic cells and as a reservoir for calcium and phosphate. Bone is also continuously remodeled in vertebrates throughout life. Osteoblasts and osteoclasts are specialized cells responsible for bone formation and resorption, respectively. Early development of the vertebrate skeleton depends on genes that control the distribution and proliferation of cells from cranial neural crest, sclerotomes, and lateral plate mesoderm into mesenchymal condensations, where cells differentiate to osteoblasts. Significant progress has been made over the past decade in our understanding of the molecular framework that controls osteogenic differentiation. A large number of morphogens, signaling molecules, and transcriptional regulators have been implicated in regulating bone development. A partial list of these factors includes the Wnt/β-catenin, TGFβ/BMP, FGF, Notch and Hedgehog signaling pathways, and Runx2, Osterix, ATF4, TAZ, and NFATc1 transcriptional factors. A better understanding of molecular mechanisms behind osteogenic differentiation would not only help us to identify pathogenic causes of bone and skeletal diseases but also lead to the development of targeted therapies for these diseases.

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