Musculoskeletal diseases and conditions are defined as conditions of the bones, muscles and their attachments such as joints. These include diseases caused by the dysfunction of bone metabolism (the processes involved in bone resorption and formation). These processes are tightly regulated by various hormones (e.g. PTH, vitamin D, steroids, and calcitonin) and local mediators (e.g. cytokines and growth factors). Dysfunction in these processes causes diseases like Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Osteomalacia and related conditions.

Osteopontin staining of human lung adenocarcinoma. Inset: Western blot analysis of Osteopontin expression in U2OS whole cell lysate.