ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To systemically investigate receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) induced differentiation of osteoclasts.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Mouse protein-protein interaction(PPI) database NIA and published microarray dataset GES16749 were used to construct and analyze PPI network of RANKL and M-CSF induced mouse monocyte RAW264.7.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the PPI network, transforming growth factor beta receptor 1 (TGFBR1), Rous sarcoma oncogene (SRC), myelocytomatosis oncogene(MYC) and integrin beta 3 (ITGB3) were able to interact with more proteins and they were the key nodes in the signaling transduction.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TGFBR1, SRC, MYC and ITGB3 might be the key points of RANKL and M-CSF induced differentiation of osteoclasts.</p>