ABSTRACT
Recently,more and more researches focus on the relationship between bone marrow fat and osteoporosis.From a pathological point of view, osteoporosis is traditionally regarded as the dysfunction of osteoblastic bone formation and osteoclastic bone resorption.Actually, bone marrow adipose tissue that constitutes a large proportion of bone marrow cells is indispensable for the balance of bone metabolism.Bone marrow fat, which is abundant in yellow bone marrow, increases gradually with aging.Bone marrow adipocytes and osteoblasts differentiate from a common progenitor, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs).It is generally acknowledged that they are reciprocal repellent in the process of BMSC differentiation.Exploring the association between bone marrow adipocytes and osteoporosis is critical for better understanding its role in the pathogenesis and the future treatment of osteoporosis.In this review, we summary the recent progress in the association between bone marrow adipocytes and osteoporosis.