The role of osteoblasts in bone metastasis

The primary role of osteoblasts is to lay down new bone during skeletal development and remodelling. Throughout this process osteoblasts directly interact with other cell types within bone, including osteocytes and haematopoietic stem cells. Osteoblastic cells also signal indirectly to bone-resorbing osteoclasts via the secretion of RANKL. Through these mechanisms, cells of the osteoblast lineage help retain the homeostatic balance between bone formation and bone resorption. When tumour cells disseminate in the bone microenvironment, they hijack these mechanisms, homing to osteoblasts and disrupting bone homeostasis. This review describes the role of osteoblasts in normal bone physiology, as well as interactions between tumour cells and osteoblasts during the processes of tumour cell homing to bone, colonisation of this metastatic site and development of overt bone metastases.