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Mechanical Loading: Bone Remodeling and Cartilage Maintenance

  • Epidemiology and Pathophysiology (Mone Zaidi and Jeffrey I. Mechanick, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Bone remodeling and cartilage maintenance are strongly influenced by biomechanical signals generated by mechanical loading. Although moderate loading is required to maintain bone mass and cartilage homeostasis, loading can cause deleterious effects such as bone fracture and cartilage degradation. Because a tight coupling exists between cartilage and bone, alterations in one tissue can affect the other. Bone marrow lesions are often associated with an increased risk of developing cartilage defects, and changes in the articular cartilage integrity are linked to remodeling responses in the underlying bone. Although mechanisms regulating the maintenance of these two tissues are different, compelling evidence indicates that the signal pathways crosstalk, particularly with the Wnt pathway. A better understanding of the complex tempero-spatial interplay between bone remodeling and cartilage degeneration will help develop a therapeutic loading strategy that prevents bone loss and cartilage degeneration.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the US National Institutes of Health for funding this work (AR52144 to HY, and AR52743 to HS).

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No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Hiroki Yokota

  2. Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopedics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1188, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Daniel J. Leong & Hui B. Sun

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  1. Hiroki Yokota
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  2. Daniel J. Leong
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  3. Hui B. Sun
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Correspondence to Hui B. Sun.

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Yokota, H., Leong, D.J. & Sun, H.B. Mechanical Loading: Bone Remodeling and Cartilage Maintenance. Curr Osteoporos Rep 9, 237–242 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11914-011-0067-y

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