Osteoclasts and integrins.

The osteoclast is the unique bone resorptive cell that accomplishes its mission by forming an isolated acidified microenvironment between itself and the bone surface. Creation of this compartment is the first step in bone degradation and establishes that an intimate physical relationship must exist between the osteoclast and bone. Thus, identification of the mechanisms by which the osteoclast attaches to bone is essential to understanding how the cell degrades skeletal tissue. Our studies have investigated whether absence of the alphavbeta3 integrin modifies the ability of c-Fms to induce Rho GTPases, and the implications for formation of the osteoclast cytoskeleton.