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Osteoclast generation from human fetal bone marrow in cocultures with murine fetal long bones

A model for in vitro study of human osteoclast formation and function

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Summary

Osteoclast formation in vitro from human progenitor cells was studied in cocultures of periosteum-free murine long-bone rudiments and human fetal tissues. No osteoclasts were generated from chorionic villi or from fetal liver, but bone marrow and purified bone-marrow fractions gave rise to multinucleated cells that resorbed calcified cartilage matrix. These polykarya react very strongly for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TrAP) and upon ultrastructural examination show large ruffled borders in areas of resorption. Resorption of murine calcified cartilage matrix by human osteoclasts was less than resorption by osteoclasts formed from murine fetal bone-marrow cells. Our results show that the murine long-bone rudiment can be used to generate osteoclasts from human sources of progenitor cells and to assess the biological activity of the formed osteoclasts. This coculture system thereby offers possibilities to study human osteoclast pathology in vitro. The use of TrAP as marker for osteoclasts in cell cultures is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Cell Biology and Histology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    M. H. Helfrich, C. W. Thesingh, R. H. P. Mieremet & A. S. van Iperen-van Gent

Authors
  1. M. H. Helfrich
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  2. C. W. Thesingh
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  3. R. H. P. Mieremet
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  4. A. S. van Iperen-van Gent
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Additional information

These investigations were supported in part by the Foundation for Medical Research (MEDIGON; grant no. 900-541-069), which is subsidized by the Netherlands Organization for the Advancement of Pure Research (ZWO)

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Helfrich, M.H., Thesingh, C.W., Mieremet, R.H.P. et al. Osteoclast generation from human fetal bone marrow in cocultures with murine fetal long bones. Cell Tissue Res. 249, 125–136 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00215426

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00215426

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