Bone Physiology, Metabolism & Drug Interactions

The knowledge of the structural, molecular, and functional biology of bone is essential for better comprehension of this tissue as a multicellular unit and a dynamic structure that can also act as an endocrine tissue, a function still poorly understood. In vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that bone cells respond to different factors and molecules, contributing to the better understanding of bone cells plasticity. Additionally, bone matrix integrins-dependent bone cells interactions are important for bone formation and resorption. Studies have addressed the importance of the lacuna-canalicular system and the pericellular fluid, by which osteocytes act as mechanosensors, for the adaptation of bone to mechanical forces. Hormones, cytokines, and factors that regulate bone cells activity, play a significant role in the bone histophysiology under normal and pathological conditions. Thus, such deeper understanding of the dynamic nature of bone tissue will certainly help to manage new therapeutic approaches to bone diseases and in various orthodontic treatment.