REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Systems Immunology
This article is part of the Research TopicBone Metabolism and Inflammatory ImmunityView all articles
Functional roles of immune cells in osteoporosis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
- 2三六三医院, 四川省成都市, China
- 3深圳市第六人民医院, 深圳市, China
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Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by reduced bone mass and deterioration of the bone microarchitecture, resulting in an increased risk of fragility fractures. Emerging evidence underscores the crucial role of immune cells as central regulators of bone metabolism. Various immune cells, including T lymphocytes and their subsets, such as TH1, TH2, TH17, and Treg cells, as well as B lymphocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, neutrophils, mast cells, and eosinophils, orchestrate bone remodeling through complex mechanisms. These mechanisms include direct and indirect regulation of osteoclast differentiation and osteoblast function, often mediated by cytokine networks. For example, T-cell subsets exert diverse and sometimes opposing effects, whereas B cells modulate the RANKL/OPG axis. Macrophages exhibit a biphasic role, with pro-inflammatory M1 and anti-inflammatory M2 phenotypes differentially influencing bone homeostasis. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the functional contributions of immune cells to osteoporosis pathogenesis, highlighting their therapeutic potential for innovative treatment strategies.
Keywords: Osteoporosis, Cytokines, Bone Remodeling, osteoimmunology, T cells, Macrophages
Received: 11 Sep 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qi, Luo, Xiao and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dazhi Yang, dazhiyang@email.szu.edu.cn
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