Bone: A Regulator of Physiology

Bone plays far more than just a structural role in our bodies. It actively communicates with our brains, kidneys, and other organs, releasing and responding to signaling molecules that regulate biological processes such as glucose metabolism and lymph node development. Defects in these interactions may lead to osteoporosis, multiple myeloma, and other diseases or developmental flaws. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine examines our current understanding of the dynamic interactions between bone and other organs and systems in the body and the molecules and mechanisms that mediate them. Contributors discuss endocrine factors that act on bone (e.g., parathyroid hormone and sex steroids) as well as molecules that are secreted by bone and act on other tissues (e.g., osteocalcin and FGF23). The interplay between bone and the nervous, immune, and vascular systems is explored, as is the influence of gut microbiota on bone homeostasis. The authors also consider the diseases that result when homeostatic pathways are disrupted and how new knowledge of these pathways may be harnessed for the development of therapeutics. This volume is therefore a valuable reference for not only physiologists and endocrinologists but for all who are interested in diseases linked to the skeletal system.