Gregory Carl A, Green Angela, Lee Narae, Rao Ashwin, Gunn William
Center for Gene Therapy and Department of Medicine, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
Drug News Perspect. 2006 Oct;19(8):445-52. doi: 10.1358/dnp.19.8.1043960.
The skeleton is vitally important for support, mechanical function and protection of internal organs. Over the last few decades, the molecular mechanisms by which bones develop and repair themselves have been the subject of intense research throughout the world. Particular attention has been paid to mesenchymal progenitors and the regulation of their differentiation to osteoblasts, the cells that build and repair bone. One of the major findings of these studies is that positive signaling by the canonical wingless (Wnt) pathway in mesenchymal progenitor cells is critical for the differentiation of the progenitors into osteoblasts. The subject of this review focuses on how perturbations of the Wnt pathway can adversely affect osteogenesis in disease and also, how pharmaceutical modulators of the Wnt pathway may be employed in the future to inhibit degenerative diseases of the bone and enhance repair.
骨骼对于支撑身体、发挥机械功能以及保护内部器官至关重要。在过去几十年里，骨骼发育和自我修复的分子机制一直是全球深入研究的课题。间充质祖细胞及其向成骨细胞（构建和修复骨骼的细胞）分化的调控受到了特别关注。这些研究的主要发现之一是，间充质祖细胞中经典无翅型（Wnt）信号通路的正向信号传导对于祖细胞分化为成骨细胞至关重要。本综述的主题聚焦于Wnt信号通路的扰动如何在疾病中对骨生成产生不利影响，以及未来如何利用Wnt信号通路的药物调节剂来抑制骨骼退行性疾病并促进修复。
