A Continuous Model for the Embedment of Osteocytes in Bone Matrix

Abstract

The formation of new bone involves both the deposition of bone matrix and the formation of a network of cells embedded within it, called osteocytes. Osteocytes are essential to the detection of micro-damage and to the control of bone renewal. Osteocytes derive from osteoblasts (bone matrix- laying cells) that become trapped in the matrix during the deposition. In turn, osteocytes control osteoblast activity through their interconnected cell processes. In this contribution, a spatiotemporal continuous model is proposed to investigate the osteoblast-to-osteocyte transition. The model elucidates the interplays between speed of new bone formation, rate of entrapment, and curvature of the bone substrate in determining the density of osteocytes in the new bone matrix.