Editor's Summary

26 March 2009

Controlling bone resorption

Bone is a dynamic tissue, constantly undergoing growth, remodelling and degradation. Central to these processes are the osteoclasts, bone-resorbing multinuclear giant cells that differentiate from mononuclear macrophage/monocyte-lineage haematopoietic precursors. Normally bone resorption is balanced by the activity of bone-forming osteoblasts, but in bone-destructive disorders such as osteoporosis, osteoclast activity outpaces osteoblast activity. Now using a mouse model of hormone-deprivation osteoporosis, the blood-born lipid mediator sphingosine-1-phosphate is identified as a key mediator of bone demineralization. It controls the migratory behaviour of osteoclast precursors, thereby regulating bone homeostasis. As a pivotal control point in osteoclastogenesis, sphingosine-1-phosphate may have potential, as a therapeutic target in bone-resorptive disorders.

Letter: Sphingosine-1-phosphate mobilizes osteoclast precursors and regulates bone homeostasis

Masaru Ishii, Jackson G. Egen, Frederick Klauschen, Martin Meier-Schellersheim, Yukihiko Saeki, Jean Vacher, Richard L. Proia & Ronald N. Germain

doi:10.1038/nature07713

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