Purpose of review: Alkaline phosphatase is an important component in hard tissue
formation, highly expressed in mineralized tissue cells. It is appropriate to review the current …

Osteocalcin (OC) is a non‐collagenous, vitamin K‐dependent protein secreted in the late
stage of osteoblasts differentiation. The presence of the three residues of γ …

Both activating and null mutations of proteins required for canonical WNT signaling have
revealed the importance of this pathway for normal skeletal development. However, tissue …

Hedgehog and canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling are implicated in development of the
osteoblast, the bone matrix-secreting cell of the vertebrate skeleton. We have used genetic …

Cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of death in patients with chronic kidney
disease (CKD). Vascular calcification is a common complication in CKD, and investigators …

The Runx (runt‐related protein) family of transcription factors plays important roles in
different tissues and cell lineages. Runx1 determines commitment to the hematopoietic cell …

Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) activates unfolded protein response (UPR)
transducers, such as PERK and OASIS, in osteoblast cells. ATF6, a bZIP transcription factor …

Osteoporosis is among the most devastating side effects of glucocorticoid (GC) therapy for
the management of inflammatory and auto-immune diseases. Evidence from both humans …

Vascular calcification is associated with cardiovascular disease, the most common cause of
death in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Patients with CKD are treated with vitamin D …

Runx transcription factors comprise a family of proteins that are essential for organogenesis.
A unique nuclear matrix-targeting signal in the C terminus directs these factors to their …