Emerging molecules in the interface between skeletal system and innate immunity

Despite the improved treatment of bone destruction, significant unmet medical need remains. For example, there is a limited benefit of continued bisphosphonate therapy for osteoporotic patients, and only minor populations of rheumatoid arthritis patients obtain biologic-free remission. Therefore, the identification of a novel therapeutic target for bone destructive diseases remains an important issue in the field of skeletal biology. To date there has been little progress in identifying osteo-innate-immunological regulators that could be used for the prophylactic treatment of inflammatory bone destruction. Recently, we identified several new molecules that are critical osteo-innate-immunological regulators by using gene targeting technology. These findings may offer an invaluable opportunity to regulate bone-destructive diseases, such as osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.