Modulation of specific signalling pathways in osteoblasts through nucleic acid based drugs

Improvements in our understanding of osteoporosis and in the design of approaches to modulate the expression of genes that play a critical role in bone environment should help to overcome bone diseases. In this review we describe, through two specific examples, how a methodology based on nucleic acid molecules can contribute to clarify the impact of transcription factors such as Slug and NFATc1 on osteoblast biology, showing also that they may be considered potential candidate for promoting bone regeneration. Whereas some major aspects concerning the use of nucleic acid based drugs still need to be investigated, the encouraging results obtained both in vitro and in vivo together with the relevant social impact of the pathologies which may be treated by these molecules, justifies further efforts to optimize their use and to bring them closer to the clinical practice.