Human Osteoclast Formation Research Articles

Osteoclast Differentiation Factor (ODF) Induces Osteoclast-like Cell Formation in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell Cultures

We have reported that osteoclast differentiation factor (ODF) expressed on the plasma membrane of osteoblasts/stromal cells is a ligand for osteoclastogenesis inhibitory factor (OCIF). A genetically engineered soluble form of ODF (sODF) induced osteoclast-like multinucleated cells (OCLs) in the presence of M-CSF in mouse spleen cell cultures. Osteoblasts/stromal cells were not required in this process. To elucidate the mechanism of human osteoclastogenesis, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were cultured for 7 days with sODF and human M-CSF in the presence or absence of dexamethasone. Treatment of human PBMCs with sODF together with M-CSF induced OCLs, which expressed tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase and vitronectin receptors, produced cAMP in response to calcitonin, and formed resorption pits on dentine slices. OCLs were also formed from the adherent cell population of human PBMCs. Dexamethasone was required for human OCL formation in culture of whole PBMCs but not in culture of the adherent cell population. OCL formation was strongly inhibited by OCIF simultaneously added. These results clearly indicate that like in mouse osteoclastogenesis, ODF is a critical factor for human osteoclastogenesis. The present study also indicates that OCIF acts as a naturally occurring decoy receptor for ODF in inhibiting signal transduction in human osteoclast formation.

Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Increases Bone Resorption by Osteoclasts Disaggregated From Human Fetal Long Bones

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) is known to play an important role in human and murine osteoclast formation. Although M-CSF has been shown to inhibit isolated neonatal rat osteoclasts from resorbing bone, its action on the mature human osteoclast has not been described. We now report that M-CSF increases osteoclastic bone resorption in a dose-responsive manner. Bone resorption by mature human fetal osteoclasts, including pit area, depth, and volume, was increased in the presence of M-CSF compared with vehicle. The number of osteoclasts in the cultures was similar after 2 and 18 h in the presence of M-CSF, whereas there was a significant reduction in osteoclast number, whether assessed as the number of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive or vitronectin receptor-positive cells after 18 h in M-CSF-free cultures. The number of nuclei per osteoclast after 2 or 18 h in M-CSF was also similar and there was no difference in the number of vitronectin receptor-positive mononucleate cells at 2 and 18 h. This suggests that the increased bone resorption is likely to be accounted for by enhanced osteoclast survival in M-CSF compared with controls rather than by formation of new osteoclasts.

IL-6 mediates the effects of IL-1 or TNF, but not PTHrP or 1,25(OH)2D3, on osteoclast-like cell formation in normal human bone marrow cultures.

A potent interleukin-6 (IL-6) antagonist (Sant 5), which binds tightly to the IL-6alpha receptor but has impaired gp130 heterodimerization, has been developed recently by site-directed mutagenesis of human IL-6. We report here that Sant 5 inhibits IL-6-stimulated osteoclast-like multinucleated cell (MNC) formation in human marrow cultures but also inhibits the stimulatory effects of IL-1 or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha in these cultures. We further show that a neutralizing antibody to IL-6 also inhibits the stimulatory effects of IL-1 or TNF-alpha in these cultures. In contrast, Sant 5 had no effect on parathyroid hormone related protein (PTHrP) or 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 stimulated MNC formation in human marrow cultures. Transfection of a human marrow stromal cell line, which normally induces osteoclast formation through production of IL-6, with the Sant 5 cDNA driven by a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter blocked the capacity of these cells to stimulate osteoclast-like cell formation. These Sant 5 transfected cells and conditioned media from these cells also inhibited the stimulatory effects of the parent cell line on MNC formation. These data suggest that IL-6 mediates the effects of IL-1 and TNF on human osteoclast formation, but in contrast to murine systems, does not mediate the effects of PTHrP. These data further demonstrate that stromal cells transfected with the Sant 5 cDNA can constitutively produce high levels of the IL-6 antagonist and inhibit osteoclast formation in vitro.

Induction of human osteoclast-like cells by treatment of blood monocytes with anti-fusion regulatory protein-1/CD98 monoclonal antibodies.

We have developed a new and simple system of human osteoclast formation by fusing peripheral blood monocytes with anti-Fusion Regulatory Protein-1 (anti-FRP-1) monoclonal antibody (mAb). When human blood monocytes were cultured in the presence of anti-FRP-1/CD98 mAbs, polykaryocytes began to appear at approximately 15 h and increased in size with time until 3-4 days of incubation with anti-FRP-1 mAb. These fused cells showed positive staining in tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, possessed numerous calcitonin receptors, and were capable of bone resorption. These results strongly suggest that anti-FRP-1 antibody-induced multinucleated cells are osteoclasts. Furthermore, FRP-1 antigens were detected in osteoclasts isolated from human bone and in the osteoclast-like cells obtained from human giant cell tumors of bone.

Human osteoclast formation and bone resorption by monocytes and synovial macrophages in rheumatoid arthritis.

To determine whether synovial macrophages and monocytes isolated from patients with rheumatoid arthritis patients are capable of differentiating into osteoclastic bone resorbing cells; and the cellular and humoral conditions required for this to occur. Macrophages isolated from the synovium and monocytes from the peripheral blood of rheumatoid arthritis patients were cultured on bone slices and coverslips, in the presence and absence of UMR 106 rat osteoblast-like cells, 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) and macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF), and assessed for cytochemical and functional evidence of osteoclast differentiation. Isolated calcitonin receptor (CTR), tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), and vitronectin receptor (VNR) negative, CD11b and CD14 positive monocytes and macrophages differentiated into CTR, TRAP, and VNR positive multinucleated cells capable of extensive lacunar bone resorption when co-cultured for 14 d with UMR 106 cells in the presence 1,25(OH)2D3 and M-CSF. Mononuclear phagocytes (monocytes and macrophages) from rheumatoid arthritis patients are capable of differentiating into multinucleated cells showing all the cytochemical and functional criteria of mature osteoclasts. Synovial macrophage-osteoclast differentiation may represent an important cellular mechanism in the bone destruction associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Induces Substantial Osteoclast Generation and Bone Resorption in Human Bone Marrow Cultures

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) is essential for murine osteoclast formation and its role in human hematopoiesis in vitro is not fully defined. Therefore, we have investigated the effect of M-CSF on the formation of human osteoclasts in vitro. M-CSF was found to induce substantial bone resorption and osteoclast formation in a dose-responsive and time-dependent manner above that induced by 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25 vitamin D3) in cultures of human bone marrow (BM) stromal cells sedimented onto devitalized bone. By day 14 there was a mean of approximately 50% of the surfaces of the bone slices resorbed compared with only 6% in cultures treated with 1,25 vitamin D3 alone. Osteoclasts were identified as 23c6+ cells (an antibody that recognizes the vitronectin receptor), 87.5% of which coexpressed the calcitonin receptor. The number of 23c6+ cells correlated strongly with bone resorption spatially, and in a dose-responsive and time-dependent manner; the correlation coefficient in cultures treated with 1,25 vitamin D3 alone was 0.856 and those treated with both M-CSF and 1,25 vitamin D3 was 0.880. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, IL-1 beta, IL-3, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, transforming growth factor-beta, leukemia inhibitory factor, and IL-11 did not increase bone resorption above that in 1,25 vitamin D3-treated cultures. We also found that 1,25 vitamin D3 increased, to a minor but significant degree, both bone resorption and the concentration of M-CSF in the culture supernatants above that in vehicle-treated cultures, indicating that M-CSF is present in our BM cultures, but that there is insufficient to induce substantial osteoclast formation. These results define a critical role for M-CSF in the formation of human osteoclasts.

The human osteoclast precursor circulates in the monocyte fraction.

The osteoclast is known to be formed by fusion of circulating mononuclear precursor cells of haematopoietic origin. The precise nature of these circulating cells and, in particular, their relation to monocytes is unknown. We have developed an in vitro system of human osteoclast formation whereby human monocytes [CD14, CD11a, CD11b and HLA-DR positive, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), calcitonin receptor (CTR), vitronectin receptor (VNR) negative] were isolated and cocultured for up to 21 days with UMR106 rat osteoblast-like cells or ST2 mouse preadipocytic bone marrow stromal cells in the presence of 1 alpha, 25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) and macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF). Numerous TRAP, VNR and CTR positive multinucleated cells, capable of extensive lacunar bone resorption, formed in these cocultures; the absolute requirements for this to occur were contact with the above bone stromal cells, 1,25(OH)2D3, and M-CSF. These results show that the human mononuclear osteoclast precursor circulates in the monocyte fraction and exhibits a monocyte phenotype, acquiring osteoclast phenotypic features in the process of differentiation into mature functional osteoclasts.

Phorbol ester induced osteoclast-like differentiation of a novel human leukemic cell line (FLG 29.1).

Studies on human osteoclast formation have been hampered by lack of a defined isolated progenitor cell population. We describe here the establishment of a human leukemic cell line (designated FLG 29.1) from bone marrow of a patient with acute monoblastic leukemia. The cultured cells are predominantly undifferentiated leukemic blasts, but addition of 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA; 0.1 microM) induces irreversible differentiation into adherent, non-dividing, multinucleated cells. TPA-treated cells bear surface antigens typical of fetal osteoclasts, degrade 45Ca-labeled devitalized bone particles, display tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase in both mononuclear and multinuclear cells and receptors for calcitonin. Calcitonin increases intracellular cAMP accumulation in TPA-treated cells. TPA-treated cells show some ultrastructural features of osteoclasts as evidenced by transmission EM. These results indicate that FLG 29.1 cells may represent an osteoclast committed cell population, which upon induction with TPA acquire some morphological, phenotypical, and functional features of differentiated osteoclasts.

Interferons-α and -γ Inhibit Interleukin-1β-Stimulated Osteoclast-Like Cell Formation in Long-Term Human Marrow Cultures

Immune cell products can have major effects on bone remodeling. Cytokines, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), are potent stimulators of bone resorption, whereas interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) inhibits bone resorption stimulated by these factors. Bone resorption is a result of either increased numbers of osteoclasts, increased activity of individual osteoclasts, or both. Recently, we have shown that human recombinant IFN-gamma is a potent inhibitor of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3)-induced formation of multinucleated cells (MNC) that express the osteoclast phenotype. However, it is unknown if other IFNs share this capacity to inhibit MNC formation. Therefore, we tested the effects of natural IFNs-alpha and -gamma and Escherichia coli-derived recombinant human IFN-gamma on MNC formation and on granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) colony formation (an early osteoclast precursor) in human marrow cultures treated with IL-1 beta or CSF-GM, respectively, to determine their effects on human osteoclast formation. Each type of IFN inhibited CFU-GM colony formation similarly in a dose-dependent fashion, with 50% inhibition seen at 64-250 U/ml. Natural or recombinant IFN-gamma inhibited IL-1 beta-stimulated MNC formation in a dose-dependent manner with an ID50 of 1-16 U/ml. IFN-alpha was more potent than IFN-gamma, with an ID50 of less than 1 U/ml. Furthermore, both IFN-alpha and -gamma inhibited fusion of precursors of these multinucleated cells. These data demonstrate that IFNs-alpha and -gamma inhibit MNC formation by inhibiting the growth of precursors for these cells as well as their subsequent fusion.

A New Human Osteosarcoma Strain (Os-Beppu) with a High Rate of Pulmonary Metastasis in Nude Mice

A new human osteosarcoma strain (Os-Beppu) transplantable in nude mice has been established. A high frequency of metastasis (87.2%) to the lung was observed throughout nine passages. Histologically the subcutaneous tumor and the metastatic lesions in nude mice were similar to the original human tumor, and osteoid and osteoclast formation were preserved. Osteoblasts were strongly positive for alkaline phosphatase, while osteoclasts were positive for acid phosphatase. Karyotype analysis revealed human chromosomes with a modal chromosome number of 41 (63.3%) and two marker chromosomes.