Parathyroid hormone-like effects of rainbow trout Stannius products on bone resorption of embryonic mouse calvaria in vitro

Products of the Stannius corpuscles (SC) of rainbow trout were tested in an established PTH bioassay involving bone resorption in embryonic mouse calvaria. Aqueous extracts from Stannius corpuscles (SC-homogenate) showed a bone-resorbing activity comparable to PTH in 24-h cultures of calvaria, indicated by a dose-dependent stimulation of lactate production and of calcium, phosphate as well as beta-glucuronidase release. Moreover, SC-homogenates induced an increase in osteoclastic activity. The PTH-like SC-principle is released during in vitro incubations of the glands. These results and the lack of an additive effect of SC-products and PTH on bone resorption suggest that both products activate the same receptor. We hypothesize that the hypocalcemic hormone of the SC of fish shares structural resemblance with PTH, the major hypercalcemic hormone of terrestrial vertebrates.     

Effects of atrial natriuretic factor on cyclic nucleotides, bone resorption, collagen and deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis, and prostaglandin E2 production in fetal rat bone cultures

We examined the effects of synthetic human atrial natriuretic factor (human ANF 99-126) on adenylate cyclase activity, cAMP and cyclic GMP (cGMP) levels, bone resorption, collagen and DNA synthesis, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production in fetal rat bone organ cultures. ANF (100 nM) inhibited PTH- and PGE2-stimulated cAMP production but had no effect on basal cAMP production in 21-day fetal rat calvaria. ANF increased cGMP levels, and this was not affected by PTH. ANF (10 nM) partially inhibited bone resorption stimulated by PGE2 but had no effect on control or PTH-stimulated resorption in 19-day fetal rat long bones. ANF had no effect on collagen and DNA synthesis or PGE2 production and did not alter responses to PTH or PGE2 in the fetal rat calvaria. Thus, ANF has no major direct effect on bone resorption or formation, but it is possible that ANF modulates the local regulatory function of PGE2 in bone.     

A role for interleukin-6 in parathyroid hormone-induced bone resorption in vivo.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) exerts its regulatory effects on calcium homeostasis in part by stimulating the release of calcium from the skeleton. PTH stimulates bone resorption indirectly, by inducing the production by stromal/osteoblastic cells of paracrine agents which recruit and activate the bone-resorbing cell, the osteoclast. The identity of the stromal cell/osteoblast-derived paracrine factor(s) responsible for mediating the effects of PTH on osteoclasts is uncertain. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), which potently induces osteoclastogenesis, is produced by osteoblastic cells in response to PTH. Further, we have reported that circulating levels of IL-6 are elevated in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism, and correlate with biochemical markers of bone resorption. Thus, IL-6 may play a permissive role in PTH-induced bone resorption. In the current studies, we demonstrate that low-dose PTH infusion in rodents increased serum levels of IL-6, coincident with a rise in biochemical markers of bone resorption. In mice, both acute neutralization and chronic deficiency of IL-6 were associated with markedly lower levels of biochemical markers of bone resorption in response to PTH infusion than were observed in animals with normal IL-6 production. Acute neutralization of IL-6 did not affect PTH-induced changes in markers of bone formation. These findings demonstrate that PTH regulates systemic levels of IL-6 in experimental animals, that IL-6 is an important mediator of the bone-resorbing actions of PTH in vivo and suggest that IL-6 plays a role in coupling PTH-induced bone resorption and formation.     

Mechanisms involved in bone resorption

Osteoclasts, which are present only in bone, are multinucleated giant cells with the capacity to resorb mineralized tissues. These osteoclasts are derived from hemopoietic progenitors of the monocyte-macrophage lineage. Osteoblasts or bone marrow-derived stromal cells are involved in osteoclastogenesis through a mechanism involving cell-to-cell contact with osteoclast progenitors. Experiments on the osteopetrotic op/op mouse model have established that a product ofosteo blasts, macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), regulates differentiation of osteoclast progenitors into osteoclasts. Recent discovery of osteoclast differentiation factor (ODF)/receptor activator of NF-κ Bligand (RANKL) allowed elucidation of the precise mechanism by which osteoblasts regulate osteoclastic bone resorption. Treatment of osteoblasts with bone-resorbing factors up-regulated expression of RANKL mRNA. In contrast, TNF α stimulates osteoclast differentiation in the presence of M-CSF through a mechanism independent of the RANKL system. IL-1 also directly acts on mature osteoclasts as a potentiator of osteoclast activation. In addition, TGF-β super family members, such as bone morphogenetic proteins(BMPs) strikingly enhanced osteoclast differentiation from their progenitors and survival of mature osteoclasts induced by RANKL. These results suggest that BMP-mediated signals cross-communicate with RANKL-mediated ones in inducing osteoclast differentiation and function. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dichlorobenzamil inhibits stimulated bone resorption in vitro

We have previously proposed that stimulated release of Ca from bone requires Na-Ca exchange. 3',4'-Dichlorobenzamil (DCB), an amiloride analog, has been shown to directly block Na-Ca exchange in cardiac tissue. To further test our hypothesis we have characterized the effect of DCB on basal and stimulated bone resorption from neonatal mouse calvaria in vitro. DCB inhibition of resorption from bones stimulated with 1 nM PTH was dose dependent. The IC50 was about 7 microM, and complete inhibition occurred at 10 microM. DCB alone inhibited basal Ca release at 10 microM. Amiloride, which is less potent as an inhibitor of Na-Ca exchange, had no effect on PTH-stimulated resorption at concentrations lower than 0.1 mM, but inhibited basal resorption at 10 microM. Stimulated Ca release was inhibited either by continuous treatment with DCB plus PTH for 72 h or by a short pretreatment with DCB alone, followed by removal of DCB before addition of PTH. At least 9-h pretreatment with DCB was necessary to block the subsequent response to PTH. The inhibitory effect of DCB pretreatment could be prevented if PTH was present together with DCB during pretreatment periods of 24 h or less. This reversibility suggests that the inhibition by DCB is not simply a toxic effect of the drug. DCB also inhibited resorption stimulated by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 or prostaglandin E2, which indicates that the effect of DCB is beyond the level of specific hormone-receptor interaction. Thus, the data are consistent with a role for Na-Ca exchange in the process of hormonally stimulated bone resorption.     

Regulation of plasminogen activator production by bone-resorbing hormones in normal and malignant osteoblasts

The plasminogen activator (PA) activity of clonal rat osteogenic sarcoma cell (phenotypically osteoblast) and of osteoblast-rich rat calvarial cells is shown to be increased by treatment with the bone-resorbing hormones, PTH, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, prostaglandin E2, and epidermal growth factor. Dose-dependent increases were observed, after a lag period of 4 to 8 h. Stimulated and control PA activities were inhibited by actinomycin D and cycloheximide but not by cytosine arabinoside. Glucocorticoid hormones prevented the hormone stimulation, but other steroids did not. Calcitonin had no effect either on basal or on hormone-treated PA activity. Isobutyl-methylxanthine alone increased PA activity and enhanced responsiveness to PTH and to prostaglandin E2. These data point to a common pathway in the actions upon osteoblasts of several hormones with diverse initial cellular actions and raise the possibility that the PA/plasmin system may contribute to cellular mechanisms of bone turnover.     

Osteoblast-like cells in the presence of parathyroid hormone release soluble factor that stimulates osteoclastic bone resorption

PTH stimulates osteoclastic bone resorption in vivo and in organ culture. We have previously found that if osteoclasts are disaggregated from bone and incubated on bone slices, PTH does not increase bone resorption, but does so if osteoblastic cells are added to the cultures. This suggests that PTH acts primarily on osteoblasts, which are induced by the presence of the hormone to stimulate osteoclastic bone resorption. In the present paper we describe investigations into the mechanism by which osteoblastic cells stimulate osteoclasts. We found that increased resorption could not be accounted for by changes in the bone substrate. Osteoblast-like cells (UMR106) incubated with PTH did, however, release a factor into the culture supernatant that stimulated osteoclastic bone resorption. This factor was stable for at least 7 days when stored at 4 C and survived freeze-thawing, but was inactivated by heating to 65 C for 30 min. Activity was lost entirely after dialysis using a Spectrapor membrane with a mol wt cut-off (MWCO) of 2000. The small size of the molecule was confirmed after ultrafiltration across Amicon filters YM2 and YC05. There was no loss of activity across YM2 (MWCO, 1000), but, in contrast, there was no stimulation in the conditioned medium after ultrafiltration across YC05 (MWCO, 500).     

A collagenolytic response to parathormone, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol D3, and prostaglandin E2 in bone of osteopetrotic (mi/mi) mice

Stimulators of bone resorption, such as PTH, 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol [1,25-(OH)2D3], or prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), do not cause calcium release from cultured calvaria of the genetically determined osteopetrotic microphthalmic (mi/ mi) mouse, due to a defect in the function of osteoclasts. To investigate the capacity of cells of mi/mi bone to degrade collagen, calvaria of 1- to 3-day-old normal and mi/mi littermates were labeled in vivo with [3H]proline 16 h before removal, followed by culture in resorption medium. PTH, 1,25-(OH)2D3, and PGE2 stimulated the release of 3H-labeled material into the culture medium from both normal and mi/mi calvaria. The labeled substance released was of collagenous origin, as indicated by its content of hydroxyproline and susceptibility to collagenase. PTH also stimulated the release of 3H-labeled materials from normal calvaria labeled in vivo 112 h before the mice were killed, but had little or no effect on 3H release from the mi/mi bone, indicating that only noncalcified collagen is susceptible to hormone-stimulated degradation in osteopetrotic bone. We conclude that a portion of the hormone-stimulated resorptive mechanism, namely collagenolysis, is functional in bone of mi/mi mice. This result helps to pinpoint the resorptive defect in mi/ mi bone to a failure to dissolve mineral, rather than a more general phenomenon of failure to remove both mineral and matrix.     

Parathyroid hormone stimulates release of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and IGF-II from neonatal mouse calvaria in organ culture

Effects of increased bone resorption on release of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and IGF-II into the osteoblast microenvironment were investigated using neonatal mouse calvaria organ cultures. Release of these growth factors from calvaria into serum-free medium was quantitated using a human IGF-I RIA and human IGF-II RRA. Untreated calvaria released several-fold more IGF-II than IGF-I. PTH (from 1-12 nM) stimulated a dose-dependent increase in the release of both growth factors that correlated with increased calcium release and was sustained for up to 6 days. IGF-I and IGF-II release were maximally stimulated 5- to 10-fold and 1.5- to 2-fold, respectively, compared to untreated control values. Calcitonin inhibited PTH-stimulated resorption, but had no effect on PTH stimulation of IGF-I and IGF-II release, suggesting that PTH effects on IGF-I and IGF-II release were not dependent on resorption. Furthermore, the amounts of IGF-I and IGF-II released from calvaria during 6 days of culture were 5-fold more than the amounts of IGF-I and IGF-II present in the calvaria (bone plus cells) at the beginning of culture, suggesting that much of the IGF-I and IGF-II released was newly produced by calvaria cells. The results suggest that PTH directly stimulated calvarial osteoblasts to release IGF-I and IGF-II. Since IGF-I and IGF-II stimulate osteoblastic cell proliferation, the effect of PTH on the release of these and other growth factors may mediate coupling of bone formation to bone resorption.     

Comparison of the bone-resorbing activity in the supernatants from phytohemagglutinin-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cells with that of cytokines through the use of an antiserum to interleukin 1

We compared the bone-resorbing activity in the conditioned medium from phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures with that of partially purified human monocyte-derived interleukin 1 (IL-1), human recombinant IL-1 alpha (pI 5) and IL-1 beta (pI 7), human recombinant tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha), and PTH in fetal rat long bone cultures. An antiserum to the products of activated human mononuclear cells, including IL-1, completely blocked the bone-resorbing activity of all three forms of IL-1 and of unfractionated PHA-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cell supernatants, but did not inhibit resorption stimulated by recombinant human TNF alpha. This antiserum also had no effect on the resorptive response to 3 nM PTH, but did decrease the response to 1 nM PTH slightly. These results imply that IL-1, but not TNF alpha, mediates the bone-resorbing activity found in the supernatants of PHA-stimulated human peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures. It is not known whether the small inhibitory effect that the antiserum to IL-1 had on the response to 1 nM PTH resulted from a nonspecific action or an effect of PTH on local IL-1 synthesis in bone. Since cytokines are found in the circulation of normal individuals and are produced at local sites of pathology, these results suggest that they can influence both normal and abnormal skeletal metabolism.     

Bone resorption and humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy: stimulation of bone resorption in vitro by tumor extracts is inhibited by prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors

Extracts of tumors from patients with humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM) were tested using an in vitro bone resorption assay in order to investigate the pathogenesis of the hypercalcemia. Bone resorption was assessed by comparing the percent release of previously incorporated 45Ca from paired halves of newborn mouse calvaria. Saline extracts of three out of five tumors from HHM patients caused a significant increase in 45Ca release relative to controls. Extracts of liver and non-HHM tumor did not cause significant resorption. Tumor-stimulated bone resorption was blocked by indomethacin and eicosatetraynoic acid, inhibitors of the synthesis of prostaglandins (PGs) and related metabolites of arachidonic acid, whereas resorption stimulated by parathyroid hormone (PTH), PGE2, or 1,25-(OH)2D3 was not. Furthermore, levels of immunoreactive PTH or PGE2 in tumor extracts were not sufficient to account for the degree of resorption observed. These observations indicate that PTH or PGE2 are not responsible for the bone resorption caused by extracts of tumors from these patients with HHM. Furthermore, they suggest that hypercalcemia in these patients may result from bone resorption stimulated by the local production in bone of PGs or related metabolites of arachidonic acid in response to a humoral factor elaborated by the tumor.     

Mathematical model of paracrine interactions between osteoclasts and osteoblasts predicts anabolic action of parathyroid hormone on bone

To restore falling plasma calcium levels, PTH promotes calcium liberation from bone. PTH targets bone-forming cells, osteoblasts, to increase expression of the cytokine receptor activator of nuclear factor kappaB ligand (RANKL), which then stimulates osteoclastic bone resorption. Intriguingly, whereas continuous administration of PTH decreases bone mass, intermittent PTH has an anabolic effect on bone, which was proposed to arise from direct effects of PTH on osteoblastic bone formation. However, antiresorptive therapies impair the ability of PTH to increase bone mass, indicating a complex role for osteoclasts in the process. We developed a mathematical model that describes the actions of PTH at a single site of bone remodeling, where osteoclasts and osteoblasts are regulated by local autocrine and paracrine factors. It was assumed that PTH acts only to increase the production of RANKL by osteoblasts. As a result, PTH stimulated osteoclasts upon application, followed by compensatory osteoblast activation due to the coupling of osteoblasts to osteoclasts through local paracrine factors. Continuous PTH administration resulted in net bone loss, because bone resorption preceded bone formation at all times. In contrast, over a wide range of model parameters, short application of PTH resulted in a net increase in bone mass, because osteoclasts were rapidly removed upon PTH withdrawal, enabling osteoblasts to rebuild the bone. In excellent agreement with experimental findings, increase in the rate of osteoclast death abolished the anabolic effect of PTH on bone. This study presents an original concept for the regulation of bone remodeling by PTH, currently the only approved anabolic treatment for osteoporosis.     

The metabolism and immunology of bone

Many cells and their cytokines produce a significant effect on bone metabolism. Bone matrix synthesis is a function of the osteoblast (Fig 1), influenced directly by numerous local and systemic factors (Tables 1 and 2). Locally synthesized factors such as SGF, BMP, and BDGF may be particularly important in stimulating new bone formation at sites of bone resorption or following bony injury. Of the systemic factors, GH; somatomedin C (IGF-1); high concentrations of insulin, testosterone, PDGF and TGF beta; and low concentrations of PGE2 and IL-1 appear to stimulate bone formation in vitro. These latter factors may be more important in maintaining skeletal growth and bone mass. Bone resorption by osteoclasts (Figs 2 and 3) is also controlled by the osteoblast, as this cell produces a leukotriene-dependent polypeptide that stimulates osteoclastic bone resorption. Osteoblasts cover the periosteal and endosteal bone-surfaces and limit exposure of the underlying bone to osteoclasts. PTH, vitamin D, PGE2, and other systemic factors interact directly with the osteoblast, not the osteoclast. Surface receptor binding of PTH increases intracellular cAMP and calcium and results in release of the factor that stimulates osteoclastic bone resorption. PGE2 induces osteoblasts to activate osteoclasts and is a major controlling factor in bone metabolism; the osteoblast produces PGE2, which can then modify osteoblastic function by positive feedback. Although low concentrations of PGE2 stimulate bone formation, higher concentrations promote osteoblast-mediated bone resorption. Furthermore, many of the systemic factors stimulate bone resorption via a PGE2-associated mechanism. Immune cytokines also appear to exert a profound influence on bone metabolism. INF-gamma inhibits osteoclastic resorption, whereas IL-1, TNF, and LT strongly stimulate bone resorption. However, low concentrations of IL-1 paradoxically result in stimulation of bone formation. These cytokines, particularly in various combinations, may prove extremely important in understanding and treating the bone loss associated with malignancies, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.     

Differentiation-inducing factor purified from conditioned medium of mitogen-treated spleen cell cultures stimulates bone resorption.

Spleen cells treated with mitogens produce a potent bone-resorbing factor called osteoclast-activating factor (OAF). To examine the relationship between the bone-resorbing factor and other protein factors produced by spleen cells, the colony-stimulating factor (CSF), the differentiation-inducing factor (DIF), the macrophage fusion factor (MFF), and the macrophage growth factor (MGF) were purified from 2.68 liters of conditioned medium of mouse spleen cell cultures treated with concanavalin A. Purification was performed successively by DEAE-cellulose, Blue Sepharose, and Sephadex G-150 column chromatography and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The DIF was successfully separated from CSF and MGF on HPLC. CSF coincided with MGF on HPLC, but MFF disappeared before application to HPLC. Only the DIF exhibited bone-resorbing activity, whereas CSF and MGF did not. The DIFs purified from L929 cells and Ehrlich ascites tumors similarly exhibited bone-resorbing activity. The DIFs purified from spleen cells and Ehrlich ascites tumor cells exhibited neither interleukin 1 (IL-1) activity nor tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activity, though the unfractionated conditioned medium from spleen cells did exhibit them. In the light of recent reports that IL-1 beta and TNF also stimulate bone resorption, the term OAF should refer to a generic activity rather than a single factor.     

Effects of two inhibitors of anion transport on bone resorption in organ culture

The present investigation was undertaken to examine the effects of 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyanostilbene-2,2-disulfonic acid (SITS) and 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS), known amino-reactive and selective inhibitors of anion exchange across the plasma membrane, on bone resorption in organ cultures of fetal rat long bones. Cultures were treated with SITS and DIDS under control unstimulated conditions or with PTH. Both SITS and DIDS were found to be potent inhibitors of 45Ca release from previously labeled fetal rat long bones. Both control resorption and the response to PTH were inhibited in a dose-related fashion. SITS and DIDS also inhibited the incorporation of [3H]thymidine in bone. The effects on resorption and [3H]thymidine incorporation were reversible when the drugs were withdrawn. These findings indicate that SITS and DIDS are potent inhibitors of bone resorption which may act by blocking the anion exchange, Cl-/HCO3-.     

The parathyroid hormone-related protein stimulates human osteoblast-like cells to secrete a 9,000 dalton bone-resorbing protein

The mechanism by which parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTH-RP) stimulates bone resorption is not known. Like certain other resorbing agents it may act to release bone-resorbing cytokines from the osteoblast. To examine this hypothesis, we used serum-free conditioned media (CM) from SAOS II cells incubated with 10(-8) M h(1-74) PTH-RP for 48 h. Treated CM contained substantially more bone-resorbing activity (BRA) in the fetal-rat long-bone assay than CM from untreated cells (2.17 +/- 0.21 vs 1.38 +/- 0.16 fold stimulation over basal [f]; p less than 0.05]. After centrifugation and dialysis, 1 liter of treated CM contained a total BRA of 7102 ngeq b(1-34) PTH with a specific activity (SA) of 447 ngeq b(1-34) PTH/mg protein. Treated CM did not stimulate the ROS assay and the cytokines PGE2, TGF-alpha, EGF, GM-CSF and IL-1 were present in low concentrations. The BRA was heat sensitive. Ultrafiltration revealed that 97% of the BRA was in a 3-30 kD fraction. Further purification was achieved by sequential reverse phase HPLC and size exclusion-HPLC (SE-HPLC). A single fraction containing BRA from SE-HPLC was purified 277-fold to a SA of 123,810 ngeq b(1-34) PTH/mg protein and had an apparent MW of 9 kD. SDS-PAGE revealed 4 bands in this SE-HPLC fraction with 1 band at 9 kD unique to that fraction. PTH-RP may cause bone resorption in part by stimulating the release of a 9 kD protein from osteoblasts which is responsible for activating osteoclasts.     

Parathyroid hormone-lymphocyte interactions modulate bone resorption

The biologically active PTH fragment 1-34 induces mononuclear leukocytes to produce a substance(s) capable of increasing bone resorption, as assayed in an organ culture system. The onset of the effect is evident at 2 days and lasts at least 7 days. The cell responsible for this effect appears to be an activated nonadherent lymphocyte (probably T-cell). PTH-(1-34) induces these cells to secrete this factor(s). The presence of adherent mononuclear leukocytes or appropriate conditioned medium appears to augment this response. Secretion of this factor(s) is specific for PTH-(1-34); it is not induced by biologically inactive PTH fragments, nor can it be induced by incubating mononuclear leukocytes with other hormones, including human PRL or lysine vasopressin. On the other hand, PTH-(1-34), human PRL, and lysine vasopressin all activate mononuclear leukocytes, as determined by [3H]thymidine incorporation. Biologically inactive PTH fragments do not. Thus, while lymphocyte activation may be a necessary prerequisite to lymphocyte modulation of bone resorption, it is not sufficient of itself. The PTH fragment 1-34 activates mononuclear leukocytes and specifically induces nonadherent lymphocytes to produce a substance(s) capable of increasing bone resorption. Preliminary characterization of this substance(s) shows that cellular components of the organ culture are necessary to demonstrate the increased resorptive capacity of PTH-stimulated lymphocyte supernatants. Secondly, this resorptive capacity is heat sensitive. Finally, this substance(s) appears to have a nominal molecular radius greater than 14,000 daltons, but less than 50,000 daltons.     

Delayed stimulatory effect of cyclic AMP on bone resorption in vitro

The effect of dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP) and the phosphodiesterase inhibitors 3-isobutyl methylxanthine (IBMX) and theophylline on bone resorption was studied in an organ culture system for 96-114 h using half calvaria from 6-7 day old mice. The magnitude of resorption was assessed by measuring the release from the bones of previously incorporated 45Ca. It was observed that dbcAMP, IBMX and theophylline, following a lag period or a period of reduced bone resorption, all progressively increased mineral mobilization. Although the continuous presence of dbcAMP increased mineral mobilization more than a temporary exposure, a limited treatment of 24 h with the nucleotide was sufficient to bring about the delayed stimulatory response. It is concluded that the observations support our earlier proposal that cAMP is not a mediator of the early stages of parathyroid hormone (PTH)- and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)-stimulated bone resorption. We suggest that the role played by cAMP may be related to the capacity of PTH and PGE2 to develop new osteoclasts, a phenomenon which takes more than 24 h to be observed.