Regulation of cortical and trabecular bone mass by communication between osteoblasts, osteocytes and osteoclasts

The size and strength of bone is determined by two fundamental processes. One process, bone remodelling, renews the skeleton throughout life. In this process existing bone is resorbed by osteoclasts and replaced, in the same location, by osteoblasts. The other process is bone modelling, where bone formation and resorption occur at different sites so that the shape of bone is changed. Recent data suggests that both remodelling and modelling are controlled by signals between the cells that carry out these two processes. Osteoclasts both resorb bone, and provide inhibitory and stimulatory signals, including cardiotrophin-1 and sphingosine-1-kinase, to the osteoblast lineage thereby regulating their differentiation and activity on both trabecular and cortical surfaces. In addition, the osteoblast lineage, including osteoblast progenitors, matrix-producing osteoblasts, bone lining cells, and matrix-embedded osteocytes, produce both inhibitory and stimulatory factors that stimulate osteoclast differentiation. We will discuss the roles of osteoblast- and osteocyte-derived RANKL, and paracrine, autocrine and endocrine factors, such as ephrinB2, the IL-6/gp130 family of cytokines, parathyroid hormone, and its related peptide, PTHrP. These factors not only stimulate RANKL production, but also stimulate osteoblast differentiation and activity. This review will focus on recent data, generated from pharmacological and genetic studies of mouse models and what these data reveal about these pathways at different stages of osteoblast differentiation and their impact on both bone remodelling and modelling in trabecular and cortical bone.