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Updated: Nov 23, 2025

A RANKL-based Osteoclast Culture Assay of Mouse Bone Marrow to Investigate the Role of mTORC1 in Osteoclast Formation
Published on: March 15, 2018
RANKL as the master regulator of osteoclast differentiation
1Department of Immunology, Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan. takayana@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
Abstract:
RANKL, the essential cue for osteoclast differentiation, is the membrane-bound factor expressed by osteoclastogenesis-supporting cells such as osteoblasts and osteocytes. In vivo evidence indicates that RANKL functions as the indispensable and irreplaceable in the program of osteoclast differentiation. The reason why RANKL plays a critical role in osteoclastogenesis is discussed from the viewpoint of the distinct signaling pathways mediated by co-stimulatory receptors and the key transcription factor NFATc1.
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