Osteoclasts in Skeletal Diseases

Abstract Osteoclasts, the specialized cells that resorb bone, play a key role in normal bone homeostasis, and hence their dysregulation is involved in many skeletal diseases. Most often skeletal diseases involve excess osteoclast formation or activation that leads to pathological bone resorption such as observed in inflammatory disorders. The lack of osteoclasts or impaired osteoclast function causes osteopetrosis diseases. Understanding the dysregulated mechanisms affecting osteoclast differentiation and function in each disease will aid our understanding of the normal regulation and provide potential therapeutic targets for the pathological regulation.