The Osteocyte: An Endocrine Cell … and More

Few investigators think of bone as an endocrine gland, even after the discovery that osteocytes produce circulating fibroblast growth factor 23 that targets the kidney and potentially other organs. In fact, until the last few years, osteocytes were perceived by many as passive, metabolically inactive cells. However, exciting recent discoveries have shown that osteocytes encased within mineralized bone matrix are actually multifunctional cells with many key regulatory roles in bone and mineral homeostasis. In addition to serving as endocrine cells and regulators of phosphate homeostasis, these cells control bone remodeling through regulation of both osteoclasts and osteoblasts, are mechanosensory cells that…

• UO
  University of Missouri
• UO
  University of Missouri-Kansas City
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: R21 AR054449, PO1 AG039355, AR46798, AG039355
• AR
  Army Research Office