Bone cells, sclerostin, and FGF23: what's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh.

Bone metabolism is linked to systemic diseases, and new research shows that the bone cells have endocrine functions that affect multiple organs. They secrete sclerostin, FGF23, prostaglandins, and osteocalcin. Pereira et al. examined gene expression of cells grown from bone biopsies of adolescents with renal osteodystrophy, as a first step to understanding how the bone-cell abnormalities contribute to cardiovascular and metabolic problems in these patients.