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Nature Medicine 12, 1356 - 1358 (2006)
doi:10.1038/nm1206-1356

Osteoclasts, no longer osteoblast slaves

Brendan F Boyce1 & Lianping Xing1

  1. The authors are in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and the Center for Musculoskeletal Research, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, New York 14642, USA. e-mail: brendan_boyce@urmc.rochester.edu


A protein has been identified that promotes the formation of osteoclasts, bone-degrading cells—while also inhibiting osteoblasts, bone-forming cells. The findings could lead to new avenues of drug development to strengthen bone (pages 14031409).


Osteoclasts, bone-degrading cells, operate under the control of osteoblasts, bone-forming cells. But recent studies have suggested that osteoclasts don't just passively carry out orders—they in turn seem to influence osteoblasts1.

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