Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Medicine, Centre for Bone and Arthritis Research at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Curr Osteoporos Rep. 2023 Dec;21(6):815-824. doi: 10.1007/s11914-023-00827-1. Epub 2023 Oct 14.
Here, we discuss the origin of chondrocytes, their destiny, and their plasticity in relationship to bone growth, articulation, and formation of the trabeculae. We also consider these processes from a biological, clinical, and evolutionary perspective.
Chondrocytes, which provide the template for the formation of most bones, are responsible for skeletal growth and articulation during postnatal life. In recent years our understanding of the fate of these cells has changed dramatically. Current evidence indicates a paradoxical situation during skeletogenesis, with some cells of mesenchymal condensation differentiating directly into osteoblasts, whereas others of the same kind give rise to highly similar osteoblasts via a complex process of differentiation involving several chondrocyte intermediates. The situation becomes even more paradoxical during postnatal growth when stem cells in the growth plate produce differentiated, functional progenies, which thereafter presumably dedifferentiate into another type of stem cell. Such a remarkable transition from one cell type to another under postnatal physiological conditions provides a fascinating example of cellular plasticity that may have valuable clinical implications.
本文讨论了软骨细胞的起源、命运及其在骨骼生长、关节形成和小梁形成过程中的可塑性。我们还从生物学、临床和进化的角度来考虑这些过程。
软骨细胞为大多数骨骼的形成提供了模板，在出生后负责骨骼的生长和关节的活动。近年来，我们对这些细胞命运的认识发生了巨大的变化。目前的证据表明，在骨骼发生过程中存在一种矛盾的情况，一些间充质凝聚细胞直接分化为成骨细胞，而另一些相同类型的细胞通过涉及几个软骨细胞中间产物的复杂分化过程产生高度相似的成骨细胞。在出生后生长过程中，情况变得更加矛盾，生长板中的干细胞产生分化的、有功能的后代，此后这些细胞可能分化为另一种类型的干细胞。在出生后生理条件下，从一种细胞类型到另一种细胞类型的这种显著转变为细胞可塑性提供了一个引人入胜的例子，这可能具有重要的临床意义。
