Bone remodeling occurs throughout life and this process is carried out by osteoblasts and osteoclasts, which are responsible for the synthesis and resorption of bone, respectively. In order to maintain bone homeostasis, bone resorption and formation must be tightly regulated.
An imbalance between osteoblast and osteoclast activity results therefore in skeletal abnormalities such as osteoporosis. Compounds demonstrating any ability to modulate this balance between resorption and formation of bone would be of interest to treat such diseases.
In this context, we can assess any direct in vitro effects of compounds on osteoblasts, using either the murine MC3T3 pre-osteoblasts cell line or an osteoblastogenesis protocol from human Mesenchymal Stem Cell (MSC).
- Evaluation of the effect of compounds on osteoblasts formation and mineralization with analyses such as Alizarin red / Von Kossa staining, Alkaline phosphatase dosage
Specific protocols can be designed and implemented such as gene expression analyses or defined markers release (Cbfa1/Runx2, Osterix, Alkaline phosphatase, PINP…).
