Human osteoclast formation

有许多重要的医疗条件，其特征在于骨丢失。这些包括骨质疏松症、癌症引起的骨丢失以及导致骨科假体松动的骨丢失。骨丢失被理解为是由于与骨形成相关的破骨细胞的过量骨吸收。在过去的几年里，对破骨细胞形成和活性调节的理解大大增加，但仍然存在重要的问题。特别是，需要更多关于人类破骨细胞形成过程的信息。我们设计了一种新的人破骨细胞形成的细胞培养模型，其中破骨细胞前体细胞在人成骨细胞的影响下成熟为破骨细胞。该模型的重要性在于，它使我们能够首次研究对破骨细胞产生积极和消极影响的药物在人类疾病中的作用和潜在相关性。我们还打算使用该模型来研究骨中的癌细胞引起骨丢失的方式，以及免疫系统细胞在正常骨和炎症条件下参与破骨细胞形成的方式。

There are a number of important medical conditions that are characterised by a loss of bone. These include osteoporosis, cancer-induced bone loss, and the bone loss that causes loosening of orthopaedic prostheses. Bone loss is understood to be due to an excess of bone resorption by osteoclasts in relation to bone formation. Understanding of the regulation of osteoclast formation and activity has increased greatly in the last few years, but important questions remain. In particular, more information is needed about the process of human osteoclast formation. We have devised a novel cell culture model of human osteoclast formation, in which osteoclast precursor cells mature into osteoclasts under the influence of human osteoblast cells. The importance of this model is that it allows us, for the first time, to investigate the role, and the potential relevance in human disease, of agents that positively and negatively affect osteoclasts. We intend also to use this model to study the way in which cancer cells in bone cause bone loss, as well as the involvement of cells of the immune system in osteoclast formation, in normal bone and in inflammatory conditions.