Semaphorins play an important role in bone homeostasis and metabolic bone disease / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:Bone formation is a dynamic process, and osteoclasts and osteoblasts are involved in this dynamic process. Semaphorins were found first as axonal growth cone guidance molecules, which express in many different tissues and regulate many physiological processes. Recently, Semaphorins are confirmed to play an important role in the regulation of osteoclasts and osteoblasts. OBJECTIVE:To summarize the role of Semaphorins in bone homeostasis. METHODS: A computer-based search of PubMed and Web of Science was performed for articles related to the effect of Semaphorins in regulation of bone metabolism published from June 1993 to January 2014 using the keywords of “semaphorin, sema”. Irrelevant articles or duplicate content articles were excluded, and finaly 48 articles were reviewed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Semaphorins act as a new class of regulatory molecules in the aspect of bone cytobiology. Studies have show semaphorins are actively involved in bone remodeling through some special mechanisms, and semaphorin proteins are crucial for bone homeostasis, which provides a new method and therapeutic target for the treatment of osteoporosis, bone sclerosis, osteolysis adjacent to joint prosthesis and other bone diseases.