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Related Concept Videos

Bone Cells and Tissue01:30

Bone Cells and Tissue

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Bones contain a relatively small number of cells entrenched in a matrix of organic and inorganic components. Although bone cells compose only a small amount of the bone volume, they are crucial to its function. Four types of cells are found within the bone tissue— osteoblasts, osteocytes, osteogenic cells, and osteoclasts.
Osteoblasts and Osteocytes
The osteoblast is the bone cell responsible for forming new bone tissue. It is found in the growing portions of bone, including the...
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Bone Remodeling01:40

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Bone remodeling is a continuous and balanced process of bone resorption by osteoclasts and bone formation by osteoblasts. In adults, it helps maintain bone mass and calcium homeostasis. While mechanical stress can stimulate turnover as part of the normal maintenance and reparative process, several hormones also regulate bone remodeling.
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Compact Bone01:27

Compact Bone

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Most bones contain compact and spongy osseous tissue, but their distribution and concentration vary based on the bone's overall function.
Compact bone, also called cortical bone, is the denser, stronger of the two types of bone tissue. It is found under the periosteum and in the diaphyses of long bones, where it provides support and protection. The microscopic structural unit of compact bone is called an osteon, or haversian system. Each osteon is composed of concentric rings of calcified...
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Bone Disorders01:29

Bone Disorders

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Aging and its effect on bone remodeling is the most common cause of bone disorders. In young and healthy people, bone deposition and resorption happen at an equal rate to maintain optimal bone health.
Bone deposition is also affected by the levels of sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone that promote osteoblast activity and bone matrix synthesis. When the level of these hormones decreases due to aging, it causes a reduction in bone deposition. As a result, bone resorption by osteoclasts...
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Bone as Supporting Connective Tissue01:23

Bone as Supporting Connective Tissue

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Bone tissue forms the internal skeleton of vertebrate animals, providing structure to the body.
Bone Matrix
Bone, or osseous tissue, is a connective tissue that has a large amount of two different types of matrix material. The organic matrix is similar to the matrix material found in other connective tissues, including some amount of collagen and elastic fibers. This gives strength and flexibility to the tissue. The inorganic matrix consists of mineral salts— mostly calcium salts—...
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Bone Structure01:55

Bone Structure

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Within the skeletal system, the structure of a bone, or osseous tissue, can be exemplified in a long bone, like the femur, where there are two types of osseous tissue: cortical and cancellous.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 3, 2025

Obtaining Primary Osteocytes Through Murine Calvarial Fractionation of GFP-Expressing Osteocytes
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Obtaining Primary Osteocytes Through Murine Calvarial Fractionation of GFP-Expressing Osteocytes

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Distinct differences between calvarial and long bone osteocytes in cell morphologies, gene expression and aging

Minhao Gao1,2, Bin Zhu3, Jing Fan4

  • 1Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Nedlands, WA, Australia.

The FEBS Journal
|April 12, 2023
PubMed
Summary

Calvarial and cortical osteocytes exhibit distinct morphologies and gene expression profiles, stemming from different bone formation pathways. Aging impacts cortical osteocytes more significantly than calvarial osteocytes.

Keywords:
RNA-seqagingmorphologyossificationosteocytes

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Last Updated: Aug 3, 2025

Obtaining Primary Osteocytes Through Murine Calvarial Fractionation of GFP-Expressing Osteocytes
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Analysis and Imaging of Osteocytes
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Area of Science:

  • Bone Biology
  • Cellular Morphology
  • Transcriptomics

Background:

  • Osteocytes are mature bone cells originating from distinct ossification processes.
  • Intramembranous and endochondral ossification form different skeletal elements, but their impact on osteocyte characteristics is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the morphological and transcriptomic differences between osteocytes from murine calvaria and femoral cortical bone.
  • To investigate the influence of distinct ossification pathways on osteocyte characteristics and aging effects.

Main Methods:

  • Confocal structured illumination microscopy for detailed cell imaging.
  • Geometric modeling to quantify osteocyte shape and arrangement.
  • mRNA sequencing to analyze global gene expression profiles.

Main Results:

  • Calvarial osteocytes are round and scattered; femoral osteocytes are spindle-shaped and arrayed.
  • Significant differences in transcriptomic profiles and 121 differentially expressed ossification-related genes were identified.
  • Aging disrupted dendrite organization and cortical osteocyte structure, but not calvarial osteocytes.

Conclusions:

  • Calvarial and cortical osteocytes possess distinct characteristics due to their unique developmental origins.
  • Differential gene expression relates to ossification, cytoskeleton, and dendrite development.
  • Aging differentially affects calvarial and cortical osteocyte organization.