Human Osteoblasts: HOb, adult

The Uses of Human Osteoblasts: HOb, adult

model for skeletal system research, signaling pathways, bone morphogenesis, gene expression, cell activation and proliferation, wound healing, bone formation and regeneration, treatment strategies, tissue engineering, in vitro bone models, mineralization, hormone treatments

General Description

HOb are isolated from fetal or adult human bones. Additionally, osteoblasts from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis donors are available. Human osteoblasts provide an excellent model system for studies relevant to the skeletal system.

Characterization: Positive for bone mineralization.

Human osteoblasts have been used to:

• Characterize signaling pathways mediating bone morphogenesis, such as identify human Crossveinless-2 as an inhibitor of BMP (Binnerts, 2009); demonstrate crosstalk between Runx2, Osterix, and NELL-1 (Chen, 2011); identify TWEAK as a cytokine regulating RANTES production, BMP-2-induced differentiation, and RANKL expression in osteoblasts (Ando, 2006)
• Demonstrate that Kobophenol A enhances proliferation of osteoblasts via activation of the p38 pathway (Kwak, 2013) and clarify the relationship between hypertension and osteoporosis by demonstrating that Ang II activates osteoclasts via RANKL induction (Shimizu, 2008, 2012)
• Identify adiponectin as an activator of IL-6, IL-8, VEGF and MMPs in endothelial cells and osteoblasts, implicating it in the development of arthritis (Lee, 2014)
• Show that inhibition of NF-κB prevented the progression of bone loss in periodontitis and promoted the wound healing in bone defects through the inhibition of osteoclasts (Shimizu, 2009)
• Study active compounds from Uraria crinita for their potential to stimulate bone formation and regeneration (Mao, 2014)
• Investigate properties of osteosarcoma, including the role of fluid pressure in angiogenesis (Nathan, 2008) and novel oncogenes (Both, 2012); and develop better treatment strategies (Ma, 2011)
• Develop optimal materials, coatings and drug delivery techniques for orthopedic implants and tissue engineering (Frandsen, 2014; Ni, 2012; Pilia, 2013a, b, 2014; Shiels, 2012; Valente, 2012; Zhang, 2010, 2011)