Molecular bases of the sympathetic regulation of bone mass

Abstract

The discovery that leptin regulates bone mass through a central relay generated a lot of interest and raised the question about the identity of the neural mediator linking the brain to the skeleton. In this review we discuss the genetic, neuroanatomical and physiological evidence identifying the sympathetic tone as one of the mediator of leptin regulation of bone mass. We also discussed the antagonistic role played by two beta adrenergic receptors in this regulation and the relevance of these results obtained through studies of model organisms to human physiology and pathology.