Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Development

Endothelial cells revealed as chondroclasts

Nature Cell Biology volume 21, pages 417–419 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Osteoclasts are known for their role in bone resorption. A study now shows that a vascular–associated osteoclast subtype at the growth plate also regulates blood vessel growth in bone and is supported by type H endothelial cells. These type H capillaries, in turn, release proteinases that promote cartilage degradation.

The sole attributed function of osteoclasts, large cells derived from monocytes, has been to degrade bone as a part of the remodeling cycle1,2. Nonetheless, osteoclasts are also found near areas of cartilage loss in the growth plate, typecasting them as cartilage degraders or ‘chondroclasts’. In this issue of Nature Cell Biology, Romeo et al.3 report a much more subtle function of osteoclasts in maintaining vascular architecture at the growth plate and reveal a special type of endothelial cell as the primary effector of cartilage degradation. Indeed, although type H endothelial cells are best known for their support of stem cells and osteoprogenitor cells4,5, a fundamental role for these cells in degrading cartilage has remained hidden.

This is a preview of subscription content

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

Fig. 1: The supportive and destructive functions of type H endothelial cells.

References

  1. Zaidi, M. & Iqbal, J. Nat. Med. 22, 460–461 (2016).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Zaidi, M. Nat. Med. 13, 791–801 (2007).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Sara, G. Nat. Cell Biol.. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-019-0304-7 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ramasamy, S. K. Stem Cells Int. 2017, 5046953 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Ramasamy, S. K. et al. Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol. 32, 649–675 (2016).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Iqbal, J. & Zaidi, M. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 328, 751–755 (2005).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Vu, T. H. et al. Cell 93, 411–422 (1998).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Aiken, A. & Khokha, R. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 121–132, 2010 (1803).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Schenk, R. K., Wiener, J. & Spiro, D. Acta Anat. 69, 1–17 (1968).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Maes, C. & Clemens, T. L. Bonekey Rep. 3, 578 (2014).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Savostin-Asling, I. & Asling, C. W. Anat. Rec. 183, 373–391 (1975).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Rose, B. J. & Kooyman, D. L. Dis. Markers 2016, 4895050 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Ramasamy, S. K. et al. Nat. Commun. 7, 13601 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Alam, A. S. et al. Endocrinology 130, 3617–3624 (1992).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  15. MacIntyre, I. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 88, 2936–2940 (1991).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mount Sinai Bone Program, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Jameel Iqbal & Mone Zaidi

  2. Department of Pathology, James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA

    Jameel Iqbal

Authors
  1. Jameel Iqbal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mone Zaidi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mone Zaidi.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Iqbal, J., Zaidi, M. Endothelial cells revealed as chondroclasts. Nat Cell Biol 21, 417–419 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-019-0306-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-019-0306-5

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing