Bone and metabolism: a complex crosstalk
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Using Real-Time Cell Metabolic Flux Analyzer to Monitor Osteoblast Bioenergetics
Published on: March 1, 2022
Liesbet Lieben1, Filip Callewaert, Roger Bouillon
1Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Medicine, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Background:
Until recently, communication from metabolism to bone was considered purely unidirectional, involving complex interactions among an adipocyte-derived factor (leptin), the sympathetic nervous system and neuropeptides. However, studies in animal models now show that bone regulates glucose metabolism and fat mass via the uncarboxylated form of an osteoblast-derived factor (osteocalcin). These findings not only demonstrate that energy metabolism regulates bone remodeling through neural relays, but also that the skeleton acts as an endocrine tissue that regulates metabolic homeostasis.
Conclusions:
Further study is needed to understand the physiological role of these complex interactions in man and their implications for human diseases.
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