Peter J. Nijweide

Identification of osteopontin in isolated rabbit osteoclasts

Bone remodeling is a complex process coupling bone formation and resorption. Osteoblasts, the bone-forming cells, are known to produce various bone matrix proteins and cytokines; however, little is known about protein factors produced by osteoclasts or bone-resorbing cells. A method utilizing the high affinity of osteoclasts for tissue culture dishes was developed to isolate a large number of pure osteoclasts from rabbit long bones. A cDNA library was then constructed from these isolated osteoclasts, and differential cDNA screening was performed between osteoclasts and spleen cells. Two clones representing osteoclast-specific clones, named OC-1 and OC-2, were isolated. By Northern blot analysis, OC-1 was expressed in osteoclasts and in kidneys, whereas OC-2 was specific for osteoclasts. OC-1 was found to encode osteopontin from its nucleotide sequence, and therefore, osteopontin may have other functions for osteoclastic bone resorption besides osteoclast attachment to bone.

Signal transduction pathways involved in fluid flow-induced PGE2 production by cultured osteocytes

To maintain its structural competence, the skeleton adapts to changes in its mechanical environment. Osteocytes are generally considered the bone mechanosensory cells that translate mechanical signals into biochemical, bone metabolism-regulating stimuli necessary for the adaptive process. Prostaglandins are an important part of this mechanobiochemical signaling. We investigated the signal transduction pathways in osteocytes through which mechanical stress generates an acute release of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Isolated chicken osteocytes were subjected to 10 min of pulsating fluid flow (PFF; 0.7 +/- 0.03 Pa at 5 Hz), and PGE2 release was measured. Blockers of Ca2+ entry into the cell or Ca2+ release from internal stores markedly inhibited the PFF-induced PGE2 release, as did disruption of the actin cytoskeleton by cytochalasin B. Specific inhibitors of Ca2+-activated phospholipase C, protein kinase C, and phospholipase A2 also decreased PFF-induced PGE2 release. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that PFF raises intracellular Ca2+ by an enhanced entry through mechanosensitive ion channels in combination with Ca2+- and inositol trisphosphate (the product of phospholipase C)-induced Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. Ca2+ and protein kinase C then stimulate phospholipase A2 activity, arachidonic acid production, and ultimately PGE2 release.To maintain its structural competence, the skeleton adapts to changes in its mechanical environment. Osteocytes are generally considered the bone mechanosensory cells that translate mechanical signals into biochemical, bone metabolism-regulating stimuli necessary for the adaptive process. Prostaglandins are an important part of this mechanobiochemical signaling. We investigated the signal transduction pathways in osteocytes through which mechanical stress generates an acute release of prostaglandin E2(PGE2). Isolated chicken osteocytes were subjected to 10 min of pulsating fluid flow (PFF; 0.7 ± 0.03 Pa at 5 Hz), and PGE2release was measured. Blockers of Ca2+ entry into the cell or Ca2+ release from internal stores markedly inhibited the PFF-induced PGE2 release, as did disruption of the actin cytoskeleton by cytochalasin B. Specific inhibitors of Ca2+-activated phospholipase C, protein kinase C, and phospholipase A2 also decreased PFF-induced PGE2 release. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that PFF raises intracellular Ca2+ by an enhanced entry through mechanosensitive ion channels in combination with Ca2+- and inositol trisphosphate (the product of phospholipase C)-induced Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. Ca2+ and protein kinase C then stimulate phospholipase A2activity, arachidonic acid production, and ultimately PGE2 release.

Function of osteocytes in bone - Their role in mechanotransduction.

Although osteocytes are by far the most abundant cell type of bone, they are least understood in terms of function and regulation. Previous studies have concentrated on their possible role as mobilizers of bone calcium, via the process of osteocytic osteolysis. Currently, however, their possible involvement in mechanical adaptation, the process whereby bone tissue maintains maximal functional strength with minimal bone mass, is discussed. We have recently obtained experimental evidence that osteocytes are the mechanosensory cells of bone, involved in the transduction of mechanical loads into biochemical signals. Our results support the hypothesis that flow of fluid through the lacunar-canalicular system as a result of loading provides the physical signal that activates the cells.

Stimulation of arachidonic acid metabolism in primary cultures of osteoblast-like cells by hormones and drugs.

The effects of parathyroid hormone (PTH), dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25-(OH)2 D3), thrombin, epidermal growth factor (EGF) and 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (PMA) on the biosynthesis and release of arachidonic acid metabolites were studied in primary cultures of osteoblast-like cells isolated from 18-day-old chick embryo calvaria. Cells were labelled with (14C)-arachidonic acid for 30 h. The radioactive eicosanoids were extracted from the cell culture media after a further 30 h stimulation period and analysed on a PRP-1 column by HPLC. The radioactive products were characterized by co-elution of (3H) standard prostanoids. Osteoblasts showed a basal release of the prostanoids 6-keto-PGF1 alpha, TXB2, PGF2 alpha, PGE2, PGD2 and PGB2, the latter being the most abundant one. Indomethacin (10(-5) M) effectively inhibited the basal release, but not that of an as yet unidentified compound. The release of prostanoids was stimulated by PTH (2 U/ml), thrombin (0.4 NIH/ml), EGF (50 ng/ml) and PMA (25 ng/ml), the latter being by far the most potent one. 1,25-(OH)2D3 was found to slightly inhibit the prostanoid release. These results indicate: (1) primary cultures of osteoblasts synthesize several prostaglandins, thromboxane B2 and one unidentified product. (2) the action on bone of PTH and the various drugs tested may be, at least partly, mediated by an increased prostaglandin production by osteoblasts. Clearly this does not apply to 1,25-(OH)2D3.

Adhesive properties of isolated chick osteocytes in vitro

Different functions have been proposed for osteocytes over time, but it is now generally accepted that their most important task lies in the sensing of strain caused by mechanical loading on bone. The fact that mechanical strain can be sensed as deformation of the extracellular matrix or as fluid shear stress along the cell, in the space between cell membrane and extracellular matrix, requires that osteocytes have close (specialized) contact with the bone matrix. We studied to which extracellular matrix proteins isolated chicken osteocytes adhere and whether this adhesion is mediated by specific cell adhesion receptors called integrins. The adhesive properties of the osteocytes were compared with that of osteoblasts. Osteocytes (and osteoblasts) adhere to the same substrates (i.e., collagen types I and II, collagen fibers, osteopontin, osteonectin, fibronectin, fibrinogen, thrombospondin, and laminin). Cell spreading varied between substrates, from all cells rounded on thrombospondin to all cells fully spread out on osteopontin, osteonectin, vitronectin, fibronectin, fibrinogen, and laminin. The percentage of osteocytes adhered was equivalent to that of osteoblasts adhered on all substrates except osteopontin and vitronectin, where osteocytes adhered less. The adhesion of osteocytes and osteoblasts to osteopontin, osteonectin, vitronectin, and fibrinogen was strongly inhibited, and to fibronectin and laminin moderately, by an RGD peptide. No RGD inhibition was found on collagen. An antibody against chicken integrin alpha v beta 3, the monoclonal antibody (MAb) 23C6, did not interfere with the adhesion of osteocytes and osteoblasts to matrix proteins, whereas an MAb against chicken integrin subunit beta 1 (CSAT) strongly inhibited adhesion to all substrates. Labeling with osteocyte-specific MAbs (OB7.3, OB37.4, and OB37.11) also did not hinder the adhesion of osteocytes to collagen type I, vitronectin, and osteopontin. Adhesion sites on osteocytes were small compared with the large adhesion plaques of osteoblasts, as demonstrated by interference reflection microscopy and immunocytochemically by staining for vinculin. Osteocyte adhesion is analogous to osteoblast adhesion with regard to the range of extracellular matrix proteins to which they adhere. The adhesion is mediated by the integrin subunit beta 1, but other integrins or nonintegrin adhesion receptors are also involved. Osteocytes make contact with the extracellular matrix via small attachment points which colocalize with vinculin. This connection between the bone matrix and the cytoskeleton may be important for osteocytic sensing of mechanical strain, as it supplies a transduction route of extracellular (mechanical) signals into intracellular messages.

Direct effect of parathyroid hormone on the proliferation of osteoblast-like cells; a possible involvement of cyclic AMP.

Serum-starved chick osteoblast-like cells (OB cells) and periosteal fibroblasts (PF cells) were used to study the proliferative effects of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Both PTH (10(-11) to 10(-8) M) and PGE2 (10(-9) to 10(-5) M) had a direct, dose-related effect on the de novo synthesis of DNA in OB cells. The PF cells only showed a dose-dependent effect in the presence of PGE2 (10(-9) to 10(-5) M). The hormonally induced proliferation of these cells was shown to be dependent on cell density and stimulation time. An optimal response for both cell types was observed in the cell density range 1.5 to 3.5 micrograms DNA/2 cm2, when stimulated for 18 hours. As cAMP-enhancing substances (N6-dBcAMP, forskolin and IBMX) could mimic the PTH- and PGE2-induced proliferation in OB cells, the increased DNA synthesis was concluded to be mainly caused by enhanced cAMP concentrations.

Biochemical and histological studies on various bone cell preparations.

SummaryFour different cell populations—designated PF, OB, OC, and PC—were isolated from calvaria of 18-day-old chick embryos for analysis of the effects of hormones on bone tissue. The cell populations were studied with histological and biochemical methods. Apart from the well-known cell types present in calvaria, a new cell type was found in the noncalcified organic matrix between the osteoblastic layer and the calcified matrix. These cells were provisionally called osteocytic osteoblasts. They represent the “transition state” between osteoblasts and osteocytes.On the basis of histological studies with light microscopy (LM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the PF population was considered to originate primarily from the periosteal fibroblasts, the OB population from the osteoblasts and osteocytic osteoblasts. The population of cells still present in calvaria after removal of periosteal fibroblasts and osteoblasts was called the OC population. This cell population was very much enriched with osteocytes. The fourth isolated population (PC) was a mixed population of fibroblasts, osteoblasts, and preosteoblasts. On exposure to parathyroid hormone (PTH), all four cell populations showed increased lactate production, but only the OB and OC populations displayed increased cAMP production. Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) stimulated cAMP production in both OB and PF cells.From the results of this study it was concluded that PTH receptors are present on all of the cell types studied, but that occupancy of the receptor induces adenylate cyclase stimulation only in osteocytes and fully differentiated osteoblasts.

Action of bPTH and bPTH fragments on embryonic bone in vitro: Dissociation of the cyclic AMP and bone resorbing response

SummaryThe effects of bPTH-(1-84), bPTH-(1-34), [Nle-8, Nle-18, Tyr-34] bPTH-(1-34), bPTH-(1-34) amide (NTA 1-34, desamino bPTH-(1-34), bPTH-(2-34), bPTH-(3-34), and [Nle-8, Nle-18, Tyr-34] bPTH-(3-34) amide (NTA 3-34) were tested in cultured bone cells, isolated from the osteoblast layers of fetal chicken calvaria (cyclic AMP) and in fetal rat calvaria (cyclic AMP, Ca release, and lactate production). Only bPTH-(1-84), bPTH-(1-34), and NTA 1-34 increased cyclic AMP production in a doserelated manner, both in calvaria and in bone cells, whereas all fragments (except NTA 3-34) stimulated bone resorption, the order of decreasing potency being bPTH-(1-84), NTA 1-34, bPTH-(1-34), desamino bPTH-(1-34), bPTH-(2-34), bPTH-(3-34). As in human cells, the antagonist NTA 3-34 inhibited specifically and in a dose-dependent way the cyclic AMP response of maximal concentrations of both bPTH-(1-84) and bPTH-(1-34) in rat calvaria and in chicken bone cells, when measured after short (15 min) and longer (1 1/2–16 h) incubation periods. In addition, measured after 4 h of incubation, NTA 3-34 completely inhibited bPTH-(1-84)-stimulated Ca release using maximal and submaximal concentrations. However, after 6–24 h of incubation, NTA 3-34 had no effect on bPTH-(1-84)-stimulated Ca and lactate release, even at an antagonist/agonist ratio up to 12.5 M, perhaps due to its lower affinity for the PTH receptor. From these findings we propose that (a) in bone there are two types of receptors, one governing demineralization via regulation of the calcium influx and one governing adenylate cyclase activity, and (b) the receptors are different from each other with respect to their affinities toward the agonists and the antagonist.

IMMUNOCYTOCHEMICAL DEMONSTRATION OF EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX PROTEINS IN ISOLATED OSTEOCYTES

Cultures of isolated osteocytes may offer an appropriate system to study osteocyte function, since isolated osteocytes in culture behave very much like osteocytes in vivo. In this paper we studied the capacity of osteocytes to change their surrounding extracellular matrix by production of matrix proteins. With an immunocytochemical method we determined the presence of collagen type I, fibronectin, osteocalcin, osteopontin and osteonectin in cultures of isolated chicken osteocytes, osteoblasts and periosteal fibroblasts. In osteoblast and periosteal fibroblast cultures, large extracellular networks of collagen type I and fibronectin were formed, but in osteocyte populations, extracellular threads of collagen or fibronectin were only rarely found. The percentage of cells positive for osteocalcin, osteonectin and osteopontin in the Golgi apparatus, on the other hand, was highest in the osteocyte population. These results show that osteocytes have the ability to alter the composition of their surrounding extracellular matrix by producing matrix proteins. We suggest this property is of importance for the regulation of the calcification of the bone matrix immediately surrounding the cells. More importantly, as osteocytes depend for their role as mechanosensor cells on their interaction with matrix proteins, the adaptation of the surrounding matrix offers a way to regulate their response to mechanical loading.

Osteoclast formation from cloned pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells

In the present report osteoclast formation from cloned pluripotent hemopoietic stem cells (PHSC) is described. Populations enriched in hemopoietic stem cells were cloned (1 cell/well) and cultured in the presence of different colony-stimulating factors, or combinations of these growth factors. In cultures containing interleukin-3 (Il-3) or pregnant mouse uterus extract (PMUE) alone, cloning efficiency was low. Cultures containing Il-3 and Il-1 or Il-3 and PMUE showed a somewhat higher cloning efficiency, whereas cultures containing Il-3, Il-1 and PMUE had the highest cloning efficiency. All colonies of cloned PHSC, tested for their osteoclast formation capability in cocultures with periosteum-free metatarsal bones of fetal mice, gave rise to osteoclast formation. Other hemopoietic cells could also be demonstrated. In control cultures in which the bones were kept without stem cells, no osteoclast formation was observed. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that the osteoclast is derived from the pluripotent hemopoietic stem cell. A combination of various growth factors is important for stem cell proliferation in vitro.