Mechanisms of bone regeneration repair and potential and efficacy of small molecule drugs

Bone regeneration and repair is a complex physiological process of bone formation. To date, existing research has greatly enhanced our understanding of bone regeneration and repair, achieving significant success in treating bone injuries. However, extensive bone defects, bone nonunion, and metabolic bone diseases remain incompletely solved challenges in modern medicine. With the emergence of High-Throughput Screening (HTS) technology, previous studies have identified numerous small molecule compounds with potential for inducing bone formation and enhancing bone metabolism. However, the effects of these small molecules on bone regeneration and repair through related signaling pathways have not been systematically elaborated. Therefore, in this literature review, we focus on summarizing the classical signaling pathways affecting bone regeneration and repair, as well as the research progress and applications of related small molecule drugs.