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Bone Abstracts (2013) 1 W4.1 | DOI: 10.1530/boneabs.1.W4.1

ECTS2013 Workshops Osteoclast activity and haematopoiesis (3 abstracts)

The relationship between osteoclasts and haematopoiesis

Nikki Horwood


Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Oxford, UK.


Over the past decade the importance of the bone marrow environment has been recognised for the development and maintenance of the haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche. Both osteoblasts and endothelial cells have been shown to provide a home for HSC within the bone marrow. This interaction is not a one sided affair and recent work has shown that HSC and myeloid cells are capable of driving osteoblast development thus perpetuating the niche itself. The coupled relationship between osteoblasts and osteoclasts has led researchers to question the importance of bone turnover for HSC numbers.

The majority of studies to date, but not all, have shown that osteoclasts are required for the mobilization of HSC and more recent work has shown a requirement for osteoclasts in the maintenance of the HSC niche. We have shown that blocking osteoclast activity leads to HSC entering the cell cycle instead of remaining in a quiescent state within the bone marrow. The impact of osteoclast activation and the cancer stem cell niche will be discussed for the progression of leukaemia, multiple myeloma and other bone cancers.

Whether the role of the osteoclast is to direct the formation of new, less mature osteoblasts or to create new spaces in the bone remains to be fully elucidated. What is clear is that active cross-talk between HSCs, their progeny and bone cells determines the HSC niche – knowledge that can be harnessed for obtaining optimal HSC numbers for transplantation and the treatment of residual disease in bone cancers.

Volume 1

European Calcified Tissue Society Congress 2013

Lisbon, Portugal
18 May 2013 - 22 May 2013

European Calcified Tissue Society 

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