Osteoblast-osteoclast interaction mechanisms

Bone tissue is constantly renewed by the coordinated action of osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Osteocytes have a prominent role in the onset of bone remodeling at selected sites of the skeleton. These and other osteoblastic cells produce a variety of mediators that modulate the differentiation of osteoclast precursors, a critical step for bone resorption to occur. Among them, M-CSF and RANKL are especially important.