Central genes, pathways and modules that regulate bone mass

• Brain regulates bone mass by secreting neuropeptides.
• Many peripheral organs signal to brain to regulate bone mass.
• Novel regulators of central control of bone mass include serotonin and estrogens.
• Targeting central pathways may be a novel way to treat low bone mass diseases.

Bones are structures that give the shape and defined features to vertebrates, protect several soft organs and perform multiple endocrine influences on other organs. To achieve these functions bones are first modeled early during life and then constantly remodeled throughout life. The process of bone (re)modeling happens simultaneously at multitude of locations in the skeleton and ensures that vertebrates have a mechanically strong yet a flexible skeleton to the most part of their life. Given the extent of its occurrence in the body, bone remodeling is a highly energy demanding process and is co-ordinated with other physiological processes as diverse as energy metabolism, sleep–wake cycle and reproduction. Neuronal circuits in the brain play a very important role in the coordination of bone remodeling with other organ system functions, and perform this function in sync with environmental and peripheral hormonal cues. In this review, we will focus on the roles of hormonal signals and neural circuits that originate in, or impinge on, the brain in the regulation of bone mass. We will provide herein an updated view of how advances in molecular genetics have refined the neural circuits involved in the regulation of bone mass, from the whole brain level to the specific neuronal populations and their neurotransmitters. This will help to understand the mechanisms whereby vertebrate brain regulates bone mass by fine-tuning metabolic signals that originate in the brain or elsewhere in the body.