Recent advances in osteoclast biology

The bone is an essential organ for locomotion and protection of the body, as well as hematopoiesis and mineral homeostasis. In order to exert these functions throughout life, bone tissue undergoes a repeating cycle of osteoclastic bone resorption and osteoblastic bone formation. The osteoclast is a large, multinucleated cell that is differentiated from monocyte/macrophage lineage cells by macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor...