Research Director: Hiroshi TAKAYANAGI
Professor, Department of Immunology, Graduate School of Medicine and Faculty ofMedicine, The University of Tokyo
Research Term: 2009-2014

Bone has been traditionally regarded as a part of the skeletal and locomotor system, but recent studies suggest that bone regulates systemic biological functions such as the immune reaction in response to environmental stress. In this project, an effort has been made to reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying the interaction of the bone with other biological systems, including the immune system, and uncover the regulatory network governed by the bone, named Osteonetwork, which elucidation may impact fundamental understanding in vertebrate biology. We identified several "osteokines", bone-derived factors which regulate other biological systems, and elucidated the osteokine-mediated systemic regulation in vivo. We further found that impaired regulation of the osteonetwork is linked to the pathogenesis of the various musculoskeletal disorders and immune diseases. The findings of this project will help providing a molecular basis for future pharmacological intervention into a variety of human diseases.