Bone Cell Mechanoresponsiveness - Skeletal Aging and Osteoporosis: Biomechanics and Mechanobiology - page 174

Bone Cell Mechanoresponsiveness
Damian C. Genetos and Christopher R. Jacobs
Abstract Improvements in health and nutrition have increased human longevity
over the past centuries. Beneficial increases in lifespan, however, are met with novel
degenerative and age-related diseases, including atherosclerosis and heart disease,
sarcopenia, diabetes, and osteoporosis. The effects of aging upon the skeleton include
anatomically heterogeneous involution, alterations in the composition of both the
organic and mineral component of the matrix, and accumulation of microdamage.
It has been suggested that the process of mechanotransduction within bone is also
affected by aging. Within this chapter, we review the process of mechanotransduc-
tion in osteogenic cells, highlight those works that have examined age-related
changes in mechanotransduction, and discuss mechanosensitive systems implicated
in other tissues.
1 Introduction
External mechanical forces originating from the environment exert critical roles in
development and homeostasis. For example, during embryonic development,
intracardiac shear forces are required for cardiac morphogenesis [ 36 ]. Similarly,
D. C. Genetos ( & )
Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Cell Biology,
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Davis,
CA 95616, USA
e-mail: [e-mail]
C. R. Jacobs
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University,
New York, NY 10027, USA