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Updated: May 14, 2026

A RANKL-based Osteoclast Culture Assay of Mouse Bone Marrow to Investigate the Role of mTORC1 in Osteoclast Formation
Published on: March 15, 2018
Calmodulin-dependent kinase II regulates osteoblast differentiation through regulation of Osterix
You Hee Choi1, Jun-Ha Choi, Jae-Wook Oh
1College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Drug Development, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Osterix (Osx), a zinc-finger transcription factor, is required for osteoblast differentiation and new bone formation during embryonic development. Calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) acts as a key regulator of osteoblast differentiation. However, the precise molecular signaling mechanisms between Osterix and CaMKII are not known. In this study, we focused on the relationship between Osterix and CaMKII during osteoblast differentiation. We examined the role of the CaMKII pathway in the regulation of protein levels and its transcriptional activity on Osterix. We showed that CaMKII interacts with Osterix by increasing the protein levels and enhancing the transcriptional activity of Osterix. Conversely, CaMKII inhibitor KN-93 decreases the protein levels and increases the stability of Osterix. The siRNA-mediated knockdown of CaMKII decreased the protein levels and transcriptional activity of Osterix. These results suggest that Osterix is a novel target of CaMKII and the activity of Osterix can be modulated by a novel mechanism involving CaMKII during osteoblast differentiation.
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