Evolution and History of Osteoimmunology

Abstract

AbstractThis narrative review focuses on the evolution and history of osteoimmunology, which is a research field that investigates the interactions between bone and components of the immune system. Looking at the evolution of bone, bone development dates back approximately 540 million years. Osteoimmune aspects can also be found in different bone-related diseases like osteoporosis, which is a frequent age-related disease and was first recognized in 1751. Moreover, rheumatoid arthritis is known as the prototype of an osteoimmune disease, which was first clinically described in 1800. A further important component of this field are osteoclasts, a term that was coined by Kölliker in 1873. For the treatment of osteoporosis different therapeutic options are available, among which 2 antibodies (denosumab and romosozumab) were currently approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2010 and 2019, respectively, thus showing the importance of osteoimmunological research for patients’ sake.