[Analysis of Musculoskeletal Systems and Their Diseases. Pathology and therapy for skeletal disorder]

There are a lot of skeletal disorders, and the pathogenesis underlying those diseases is varied. However, mechanisms underlying some disorders, particularly osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis, were, at least in part, clarified and therapeutic targets for those diseases were identified. Hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha was identified to be required for osteoclast activation in postmenopausal osteoporosis, while signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 was demonstrated to contribute for development of chronic arthritis and joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis.