Review of Signaling Pathways Governing MSC Osteogenic and Adipogenic Differentiation

Figure 2

Theoretical inverse relationship between osteogenic and adipogenic programming. Multiple signaling pathways have been demonstrated to preferentially induce osteogenic programming at the expense of adipogenesis, or vice versa. In this regard, the differentiation of an MSC into either an adipocytic or osteoblastic phenotype can be theorized as a seesaw, where induction of one lineage comes at the expense of the other. However, numerous exceptions exist to this simplification.