Int J Med Sci 2018; 15(12):1415-1422. doi:10.7150/ijms.26741 This issue Cite
Review
1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
2. Stomatological Hospital of Southern Medical University & Guangdong Provincial Stomatological Hospital, Guangzhou 510280, China
3. Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Tooth Development and Bone Remodeling, Changchun 130021, China
* These authors contributed equally to this article
Bone formation occurs by two distinct mechanisms, namely, periosteal ossification and endochondral ossification. In both mechanisms, osteoblasts play an important role in the secretion and mineralization of bone-specific extracellular matrix. Differentiation and maturation of osteoblasts is a prerequisite to bone formation and is regulated by many factors. Recent experiments have shown that transcription factors play an important role in regulating osteoblast differentiation, proliferation, and function. Osteogenesis related transcription factors are the central targets and key mediators of the function of growth factors, such as cytokines. Transcription factors play a key role in the transformation of mesenchymal progenitor cells into functional osteoblasts. These transcription factors are closely linked with each other and in conjunction with bone-related signaling pathways form a complex network that regulates osteoblast differentiation and bone formation. In this paper, we discuss the structure of T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor (TCF/LEF) and its role in embryonic skeletal development and the crosstalk with related signaling pathways and factors.
Keywords: TCF/LEF Transcription Factors, signal transduction pathway, Osteogenesis