Response of Osteoblasts to the Stimulus of Fluid Flow

Bone is an important porous tissue that supports the body, maintains calcium and phosphate homeostasis, protects vital organs, and houses bone marrow. The interaction between hydrostatic pressure and fluid phase, solid phase, cells, and vascular in bone makes bone inevitably bear baseline levels of fluid flow. Fluid flow plays an important role in regulating the proliferation, differentiation, distribution, and apoptosis of osteoblasts in bone. The effect of fluid flow on osteoblasts is dependent on time, velocity, and type. Some response of osteoblasts to fluid flow is closely related to the soluble factors secreted by the osteoblasts themselves or other types of bone cells. When the response is disordered, related bone diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and abnormal osteogenesis probably happen. In this article we review the current progress in the study of the response of osteoblasts to the direct and indirect stimulus of fluid flow and their roles in osteogenesis and related bone diseases.