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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Feb 18.
Published in final edited form as: Adv Biosci Biotechnol. 2013 Oct 13;4(10C):15–30. doi: 10.4236/abb.2013.410A4003

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Breast cancer bone metastases. When active TGF-β is released from the bone matrix upon bone resorption by osteoclasts it acts on breast cancer cells to stimulate the production of osteolytic factors, such as parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and interleukin-(IL) 6 and −11. These factors increase the RANKL/OPG expression ratio in osteoblasts, which bind to the RANK receptors expressed on osteoclasts and activate osteoclastogenesis. TGF-β can directly stimulate osteoclast activity and inhibiting osteoblast differentiation thus, TGF-β can stimulate tumor growth.

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