A primary goal of bone research is to understand the mechanism (s) by which mechanical
forces dictate the cellular and metabolic activities of osteoblasts, the bone-forming cells.
Several studies indicate that osteblastic cells respond to physical loading by transducing
signals that alter gene expression patterns. Accumulated data have documented the
fundamental role of the osteoblast-specific transcription factor Cbfa1 (core-binding factor) in
osteoblast differentiation and function. Here, we demonstrate that low level mechanical …