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Nature 416, 686-687 (18 April 2002) | doi:10.1038/416686a
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Medicine: Interfering with bone remodelling
Tamara Alliston1 & Rik Derynck1
Abstract
As they mature, bone-resorbing cells trigger the production of their own 'off-switch' — the interferon-
protein — to prevent the runaway bone loss that is seen in diseases such as osteoporosis.
In adult vertebrates, ten per cent of the skeletal bone mass is replaced every year, amounting to a complete structural overhaul every decade. This constant remodelling allows bone to carry out its many functions: to support the body and allow movement; to incubate developing immune cells; and to act as a reserve of inorganic minerals, especially calcium.
- Tamara Alliston and Rik Derynck are in the Departments of Growth and Development, and Anatomy, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143-0640, USA.
e-mail: Email: tallist@itsa.ucsf.edu
e-mail: Email: derynck@itsa.ucsf.edu
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