Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026

Real-Time Imaging of CCL5-Induced Migration of Periosteal Skeletal Stem Cells in Mice
Published on: September 16, 2020
Osteoblast precursors at different anatomic sites
1Université Paris 7, Institut Biomédical des Cordeliers-IFR58, INSERM E110, 15-21 rue de l'Ecole de Médecine, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France. Tilmann.Wurtz@bhdc.jussieu.fr
Abstract:
Skeletal morphology depends on the local regulation of bone formation, both in a quantitative and qualitative sense. The formative cells, osteoblasts, adjust their synthetic activity in response to signals that influence cell differentiation and matrix production. Here, we review data concerning the morphological patterning during bone ontogenesis and its direct cause: osteoblasts at specific anatomic sites. An overview of the possible origins of osteogenic cells is presented, considering bone growth and homeostasis, and discussing the repair process. A testable model is proposed, in which functional differences between osteoblast populations are explained by homeobox-gene regulation. Newly developed markers for osteoblast recruitment and differentiation provide an experimental system to test the impact of homeobox-gene expression on osteoblast differentiation and bone matrix production.
Related Concept Videos
Bone Cells and Tissue
Osteoblasts and Osteocytes
The osteoblast is the bone cell responsible for forming new bone tissue. It is found in the growing portions of bone, including the periosteum and...
Bone Remodeling
Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification
The process begins when mesenchymal cells in the embryonic skeleton gather together and differentiate into osteogenic cells, which then develop into...
Bone Formation by Endochondral Ossification
Osteoclasts in Bone Remodeling
Growth of Cartilage and Bone Tissue

