Involvement of Noncoding RNAs in the Differentiation of Osteoclasts

Figure 1

Osteoclastogenesis. Within the bone marrow, SCF, IL-3, and IL-6 stimulate HSCs to differentiate into CMPs. GM-CSF stimulates CMPs to differentiate into GMPs. M-CSF stimulates GMPs to differentiate into OCPs. OCPs express RANK and CSF1R. Upon RANKL and M-CSF binding to RANK and CSF1R, respectively, OCPs gradually differentiate to TRAP-positive mononuclear osteoclasts which then fuse to become multinucleated osteoclasts. Immature osteoclasts then undergo morphological changes and become mature and activated osteoclasts.