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Comment
. 2021 Jul 5;22(7):e52986.
doi: 10.15252/embr.202152986. Epub 2021 Jun 13.

A critical relationship between bone and fat: the role of bone marrow adipose-derived RANKL in bone metabolism

Masahiro Onji  1 , Nicolas Werschler  2 , Josef Penninger  1   3
Affiliations
Comment

A critical relationship between bone and fat: the role of bone marrow adipose-derived RANKL in bone metabolism

Masahiro Onji et al. EMBO Rep. .

Abstract

Recent studies have unveiled unique functions of the bone marrow adipose tissue (BMAT), which represent over 10% of the total adipose tissue mass in healthy adults. Increasing evidence is emerging as to how BMAT deposition and osteoporosis are linked under normal and pathophysiological conditions, which is opening up novel treatment avenues. However, the means by which bone marrow adipocytes (BMAs) regulate bone remodeling and their involvement in osteoporosis remained unknown. A study in this issue of EMBO Reports (Hu et al, 2021) and a study in Journal of Clinical Investigation (Yu et al, 2021) reports independently that BMA-derived RANKL regulates osteoclastogenesis and bone remodeling, indicating that excessive RANKL generated by BMAs is an underlying cause for osteoporosis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The role of RANKL derived from bone marrow adipocytes in bone metabolism
The diagram illustrates the proposed role of bone marrow adipocyte (BMA)‐derived RANKL in cancellous bone remodeling. Estrogen deficiency decreases OPG levels and increases BMA‐derived surface RANKL binding to RANK on osteoclast progenitors resulting in subsequent osteoclast development and, under pathologic conditions, excessive bone resorption. The figure was created with BioRender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

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