Specific types of cancer may not grow as efficiently in mouse bone as they do in a human microenvironment, hence the need for humanized models [90]. This general approach is reflected into varied attempts to explore the homing of prostate cancer (manuscript in preparation), myeloma cells [91], leukemia [92], and breast cancer cells [93] to humanized microenvironments. Stem cells in bone bring forth a remarkable change of perspective in bone medicine. They allow for consideration of diseases that affect bone as an organ rather than as a tissue. They provide

the tool needed to understand diseases of the skeleton other GDC-0199 concentration than osteoporosis, while also contributing to the understanding of osteoporosis and bone aging. They provide a novel angle, centered on bone progenitors, in the study of major hematological diseases. They open the prospect of understanding the interaction of bone and cancer using the understanding of the HME/niche as a blueprint. Finally,

pursuing these avenues of strict medical relevance can advance our understanding of bone disease, which can feed back on our understanding of bone physiology. Personal work mentioned in this article was supported by Telethon Foundation (GGP09227), MIUR (20102M7T8X), Fondazione Roma (2008), Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti (103/2011), Ministry of Health of Italy (G21J11000040001), EU (PluriMes consortium602423) and Sapienza University of Rome (C26A11LF98; C26A12TKEZ), and by the DIR, NIDCR, of the IRP, NIH, DHHS (PGR) (1ZIADE000380). “
“The publisher regrets that Fig. 2 was published incorrectly. The correct figure appears PFT�� BCKDHB below. The publisher would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. Figure options Download full-size image Download high-quality image (609 K) Download as PowerPoint slide “
“The authors regret that the acknowledgements were published incorrectly. They should read as follows: Funding statement: This study was funded by Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA. Acknowledgment: We thank Gregg Wesolowski, Parvithra Ramakrishnan (Merck & Co.) and Aurora Varela and

Susan Smith (Charles River Laboratories) for their technical assistance for this study. We would also like to thank the LAR staff (Merck & Co.) for providing care for the animals in this study. We would also like to thank Tara Cusick and Boyd B Scott (Merck & Co.) for their critical review of this manuscript. Finally we would like to thanks Jennifer Pawlowski (Merck & Co.) for the logistical support during the submission of this manuscript. COI statement: Author RS is an employee of Charles Rivers Laboratories which conducted contract research for Merck & Co for this study. Authors DYS and HD received consultant fees from Merck & Co. Authors MAG and LTD are employees of Merck & Co. and may own stock in the company. Author CH was an employee of Merck & Co at the time the study was conducted.