Hematological defects in the oc/oc mouse, a model of infantile malignant osteopetrosis

Infantile malignant osteopetrosis (IMO) is a rare and lethal disease characterized by an absence of bone resorption due to inactive OCLs. Affected patients display an increased bone mass and hematological defects. The osteopetrotic oc/oc mouse displays a bone phenotype similar to the one observed in IMO patients, and the same gene, Tcirg1, is mutated in this model and in the majority of these patients. Therefore, we explored in oc/oc mice the consequences of the perturbed bone microenvironment on hematopoiesis. We show that the myelomonocytic differentiation is increased, leading to an elevated number of OCLs and dendritic cells. B lymphopoiesis is blocked at the pro-B stage in the bone marrow of oc/oc mouse, leading to a low mature B-cell number. T-cell activation is also affected, with a reduction of IFNgamma secretion by splenic CD4(+) T cells. These alterations are associated with a low IL-7 expression in bone marrow. All these data indicate that the lack of bone resorption in oc/oc mice has important consequences in both myelopoiesis and lymphopoiesis, leading to a form of immunodeficiency. The oc/oc mouse is therefore an appropriate model to understand the hematological defects described in IMO patients, and to derive new therapeutic strategies.