Abstract

Vesicles and Cellular Communication within the Bone Environment

Hans van Leeuwen, Professor and Dean, Erasmus University Medical Center

Bone cells are not only important in bone metabolism and building and maintaining healthy bone but are also involved in numerous other processes. This presentation will focus on two of these. One is the interplay with the cells in the bone marrow in particular the hematopoietic stem cells that give rise to the cells of our immune system. The other is the role in cancer metastasis. I will discuss the presence of extracellular vesicles in the bone environment and how these are involved in the interplay between bone cells, the osteoblasts, and hematopoietic stem cells and prostate cancer cells. In addition, I will address our studies on unraveling the content of these osteoblast as well as prostate cancer cells-derived extracellular vesicles. Hereby I will introduce extracellular vesicles in the bone environment and a role of bone cells beyond bone metabolism. The understanding of these extracellular vesicles in the either physiological or pathophysiological condition may provide novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools.