Influences of Aged Bone Marrow Macrophages on Skeletal Health and Senescence.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose of this review is to discuss the role of macrophages in the regulation of skeletal health with age, particularly in regard to both established and unexplored mechanisms in driving inflammation and senescence.

Recent Findings: A multitude of research has uncovered mechanisms of intrinsic aging in macrophages, detrimental factors released by these immune cells, and crosstalk from senescent mesenchymal cell types, which altogether drive age-related bone loss. Furthermore, bone marrow macrophages were recently proposed to be responsible for the megakaryocytic shift during aging and overall maintenance of the hematopoietic niche.