INTRODUCTION

The dysregulation of cell fate toward osteoprecursor cells associated with most -based disorders may lead to episodic extraskeletal or ectopic bone formation in subcutaneous tissues. The bony lesion distribution suggests the involvement of abnormal differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and/or more committed precursor cells. Data from transgenic mice support the concept that is a crucial factor in regulating lineage switching between osteoblasts (OBs) and adipocyte fates. The mosaic nature of heterotopic bone lesions suggests that genetic defects provide a sensitized background for ectopic osteodifferentiation, but the underlying molecular mechanism remains largely unknown.

METHODS

The effect of silencing in the presence and/or absence of osteoblastic stimuli was evaluated in the human L88/5 MSC line during osteodifferentiation. A comparison of the data obtained with data coming from a bony lesion from a -mutated patient was also provided.

RESULTS

Our study adds some dowels to the current fragmented notions about the role of during osteoblastic differentiation, such as the premature transition of immature OBs into osteocytes and the characterization of the differences in the deposed bone matrix.

CONCLUSION

We demonstrated that our cell model partially replicates the behavior results, resulting in an applicable human model to elucidate the pathophysiology of ectopic bone formation in -based disorders.