Osteoimmunology: An Introduction

Abstract

It has been almost 40 years since it was first observed that cells of the immune system could influence the functions of bone [1]. Since that time, significant strides have been made in our understanding of the interactions between hematopoietic, immune, and bone cells. This field is now known as “osteoimmunology,” which is a term that was first coined by Arron and Choi in an commentary in Nature in 2000 [2]. In the 11 years since the field has grown markedly. PubMed now lists over 2,000 references that combine the terms immunology with osteoclasts or osteoblasts. The 3rd International Conference on Osteoimmunology was designed to further nurture the development of this field. It met at the Nomikos Conference Center Fira, Santorini, Greece, from June 20 to 25, 2010. Over 145 participants heard a rich program that was composed of 22 half hour talks and 11 short 10-min talks. In addition, there were 65 abstracts presented as posters. The subjects covered in these presentations spanned all the current topic areas of this field. Talks were divided into sessions. These included Niche and Soil, three session on the Basic Concepts of Osteoimmunology: Osteoblasts, Osteoclasts and Cross Talk, and a session on emerging areas entitled “Up and Coming.”