osteoblast

Function: 1) bone formation 2) production of osteoid containing collagen type 1 & in much smaller quantities, osteocalcin & osteopontin, which compose the organic matrix of bone 3) mineralization of osteoid matrix 4) remodeling of bone in conjunction with osteoclasts 5) osteoblasts trapped in the bone matrix become osteocytes Formation: 1) differentiation induced by bone morphogenic proteins 2) other growth factors may be involved - FGF, PDGF, TGF-beta Markers: 1) osteoprogenitor cells express Cbfa1/Runx2 2) osteoblasts express osterix, col1, ALP, osteocalcin, osteopontin, osteonectin Regulation of osteoclasts by RANKL, cell surface & secreted Morphology: 1) cytoplasm is basophilic on H&E stain due to presence of large amounts of rough endoplasmic reticulum 2) nucleus is large & spherical 3) stain positively for collagen tyep 1 of alkaline phosphatase

References

Wikepedia, The Free Encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/osteoblast