Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2011, Vol. 15 ›› Issue (37): 6991-6994.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-8225.2011.37.036

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Hedgehog signaling pathway and bone development

Zou Sha-sha, Hu Hong-liang   

  1. Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Human Sperm Bank, Shanghai  200001, China
  • Received:2011-05-06 Revised:2011-08-16 Online:2011-09-10 Published:2011-09-10
  • Contact: Hu Hong-liang, Doctor, Master’ supervisor, Associate professor, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Human Sperm Bank, Shanghai 200001, China hongliang_hu1115@hotmail.com
  • About author:Zou Sha-sha, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Human Sperm Bank, Shanghai 200001, China zoushashash@126.com
  • Supported by:

    the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30973069*, 30672146*

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Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Hedgehog, as an important regulatory factor in bone growth, has been recently focused for its mechanism in bone growth.
OBJECTIVE: To introduce the mechanisms of Hedgehog in cartilage and skeleton development and the relationship between the hedgehog signalling pathway and bone disease and to investigate the research progress in Hedgehog signalling pathway in bone development.
METHODS: A computer-based online search in PubMed and CNKI database was performed using key words of “Hedgehog, bone development, mesenchymal stem cells, cartilage, osteogenesis, bone defects” in English and Chinese respectively. The published dates are limited between January 1994 and December 2010. Researches related to this review purpose were included. Irrelevant or repetitive articles were excluded. Then 31 articles were selected according to the inclusive criteria for the review.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSTION: Hedgehog is closely related to almost every stages of bone development, including differentiations from mesenchymal stem cells to osteocyte, formations of cartilage tissue and skeleton and other aspects. Aberrant Hedgehog signalling pathway will lead to severe developmental disorders including bone deformities and bone defects. However, the detailed mechanism regarding Hedgehog signalling pathway remains poorly understood and techniques regarding related animal experiments have not yet been so sophisticated that no clinical trials are performed both at home and abroad. Hedgehog is involved in osteoblast development and vascularisation in both embryogenesis and adult mammalian. For this reason, it is potential to solve the problem of angiogenesis while repairing bone defect in bone tissue engineering. With continuous researches on the Hedgehog signalling pathway in depth, Hedgehog signalling pathway has prosperous future in the areas of bone tissue engineering and clinical gene therapy.

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