Osteoblasts are bone marrow cells that build and maintain bone structure, but their production decreases with age. Osteocytes and bone lining cells also play important roles in bone health. Calcium intake affects osteoblast function. Osteoblasts work with osteoclasts to keep bones strong and renew them constantly.
Osteoblasts are cells that originate in the bone marrow and help produce new bone. These cells build the matrix of the bone structure and also play a role in the mineralization of the bone matrix. Bone is constantly being built and broken down by the body, making osteoblasts quite critical. The osteoblast’s counterpart is the osteoclast, a cell responsible for breaking down bone.
As people age, their production of osteoblasts decreases. This is why older people tend to have more fragile bones that are at risk of breaking and why they take longer to heal after breaks because they have fewer cells to rebuild damaged bone. Bone health can also be affected by the amount of calcium available in the diet, as osteoblasts need calcium to work with in the bone-building process.
These cells can differentiate into different cell types, as well as work to build bone. An osteocyte is an osteoblast that becomes trapped in the bone matrix. Osteocytes cannot divide and develop long extensions to communicate with other osteocytes. These cells move nutrients and wastes through the bone matrix. Bone lining cells are osteoblasts that attach to the surface of the bone, flattening themselves in the process.
Bone lining cells appear to play a role in activating osteoblasts and osteoclasts, responding to hormones and changing conditions in the body to activate the most appropriate activity. They also regulate the amount of calcium that can enter bone, by acting as a selectively permeable membrane that can allow calcium to flow into bone or block its absorption.
Osteoblasts are essential for bone structure and integrity. Not only do they build new bone, but they also maintain and strengthen existing bone, ensuring that the matrix is not compromised and that it is as uniform as possible. Tag in collaboration with osteoclasts, they keep the bone in a constant state of renewal which eliminates areas of weakness and addresses cracks, fractures and other problems.
Viewed in magnification and cross-section, a piece of bone reveals a thriving assortment of osteoblasts and osteoclasts at work, and the small pits, known as lacunae, that house the star-shaped osteocytes can be clearly seen. The magnification also shows the complexity and detail of the mineralized matrix that makes up the bones in everything from shrews to elephants.
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