of bone resorption

Abstract: The osteoclast is a physiological polykaryon and the major if not exclusive resorptive cell of bone. It participates in bone remodeling, repair, and growth and mobilization of mineral to meet homeostatic de-mands. Most importantly, osteoporosis, a disease en-demic in Western society and Asia, is always a reflec-tion of enhanced osteoclastic activity relative to bone formation by osteoblasts. In fact, all forms of anti-osteoporosis therapy proven successful involve inhi-bition of osteoclastic bone resorption. Bone resorp-tion is regulated either by altering recruitment of osteoclast precursors into fully differentiated resorp-tive polykaryons or modulating the rate at which ma-hire osteoclasts degrade bone. With this in mind, our laboratory has focused on the molecular mechanisms of osteoclast differentiation and the means by which the cell degrades bone matrix. J. Leukoc. Biol. 61