Effects of mechanobiological signaling in bone marrow on skeletal health
journal contribution
posted on 2019-10-28, 00:00authored byAlyssa G. Oberman, Glen L. Niebur
Bone marrow is a cellular tissue that forms within the pore space and hollow diaphysis of bones. As a tissue, its primary function is to support the hematopoietic progenitor cells that maintain the populations of both erythroid and myeloid lineage cells in the bone marrow, making it an essential element of normal mammalian physiology. However, bone’s primary function is load bearing, and deformations induced by external forces are transmitted to the encapsulated marrow. Understanding the effects of these mechanical inputs on marrow function and adaptation requires knowledge of the material behavior of them arrow at multiplescales, theloads that areapplied,and the mechanobiology of the cells. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge of each of these factors. Character- ization of the marrow mechanical environment and its role in skeletal health and other marrow functions remains incomplete, but research on the topic is increasing, driven by interest in skeletal adaptation and the mechanobiology of cancer metastasis. Keywords: