2013 Volume 33 Issue 1 Pages 51-55
Since joining Showa University, I have been studying the regulatory mechanisms related to differentiation and functions of hard-tissue-constituting cells. Here I present two topics that have recently received out attention. The first is monocarboxylate transporter-1, a molecule involved in cellular energy metabolism, which controls the expression of phagocyte-type NADPH oxidase and cell death in chondrocytes. The other is lysine gingipain, a protease produced by Porphyromonas gingivalis that promotes osteoclast differentiation.