Bone Cell Biology Assessed by Microscopic Approach. Regulation of bone mineralization through the osteocyte lacuno-canalicular network

Osteocytes and their dendrites form a large network called the lacuno-canalicular system in mammalian bone. Osteocytes are believed to directly contribute to regulation of mineralization and demineralization in bone matrix, in addition to their indirect regulation of these processes through osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Not only can the location and shape of osteocyte lacunae and canaliculi be spatially visualized in isolated bone samples using synchrotron radiation technology, but differences in the degree of mineralization throughout the lacuno-canalicular system can be detected and quantified. Currently, comparable observation of the time course of these activities in vivo is technically challenging. This review provides an overview of non-dynamic quantitative analysis in the lacuno-canalicular system. Such analysis has the potential to become a methodological basis for investigating osteocyte-dependent direct regulation of mineralization in bone diseases.