Osteoporosis, menopause and the reinoid X receptor
Check our latest article in Mapping Ignorance: BPA and pregnancy: diabetes for you and your kids.
Like the river of Heraclitus, our bones are constantly changing. Although it may look tough and immutable, the bone is a very dynamic tissue that is constantly formed and destroyed, having different appearances during each of the stages of life. Bone destruction or reabsorption is mediated by a particular cellular type known as the osteoclasts (osteo, bone; clasto, break). Osteoclasts originate from haematopoietic stem cells, that is, multi-potent cells that have the ability to renewal themselves and produce blood cells, which is the reason why their name derives from the union of hemato (blood) and poiesis (make).
Both the osteoclast cell number and the control of osteoclast activity are fundamental in order to maintain healthy bones. In fact, deregulation of any of these factors results in an imbalance between bone formation and bone destruction, leading to significant alterations like osteoporosis. This pathology occurs when osteoclast differentiation and activity increases and, subsequently, there is an increment of bone destruction.
