Endogenous Glucocorticoids and Bone

Hong Zhou; Mark S Cooper; Markus J Seibel

doi:10.4248/BR201302001

Endogenous Glucocorticoids and Bone

Bone Res. 2013 Jun 28;1(2):107-19. doi: 10.4248/BR201302001. eCollection 2013 Jun.

Authors

Hong Zhou¹, Mark S Cooper², Markus J Seibel³

Affiliations

¹ Bone Research Program, ANZAC Research Institute , Sydney, Australia ; Concord Clinical School, The University of Sydney , Sydney, Australia.
² Concord Clinical School, The University of Sydney , Sydney, Australia ; Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Concord Hospital , Sydney, Australia.
³ Bone Research Program, ANZAC Research Institute , Sydney, Australia ; Concord Clinical School, The University of Sydney , Sydney, Australia ; Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Concord Hospital , Sydney, Australia.

Abstract

While the adverse effects of glucocorticoids on bone are well described, positive effects of glucocorticoids on the differentiation of osteoblasts are also observed. These paradoxical effects of glucocorticoids are dose dependent. At both physiologicaland supraphysiological levels of glucocorticoids, osteoblasts and osteocytes are the major glucocorticoid target cells. However, the response of the osteoblasts to each of these is quite distinct. At physiology levels, glucocorticoids direct mesenchymal progenitor cells to differentiate towards osteoblasts and thus increase bone formation in a positive way. In contrast with ageing, the excess production of glucocorticoids, at both systemic and intracellular levels, appear to impact on osteoblast and osteocytes in a negative way in a similar fashion to that seen with therapeutic glucocorticoids. This review will focus on therole of glucocorticoids in normal bone physiology, with particular emphasis on the mechanism by which endogenous glucocorticoids impact on bone and its constituent cells.

Keywords: Wnt signaling; bone; glucocorticoids; mechanisms of action; osteoblasts; skeletal development.

Publication types

Review