The activity of 22-oxacalcitriol in osteoblast-like (ROS 17/2.8) cells

22-Oxacalcitriol (OCT), a synthetic vitamin D analog, can mimic the ability of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3[1,25-(OH)2D3] to differentiate leukemia and skin cells, to enhance the immune response and to suppress PTH secretion, but has much less calcemic activity. The mechanism for this selective action is not understood. OCT has been shown to have a diminished ability to mobilize calcium from bone in vivo, but in vitro findings are contradictory. Little is known about the effect of OCT on bone forming cells. Therefore, the present studies were designed to investigate the actions of OCT at the molecular level in the osteoblast-like cell line, ROS 17/2.8. 3H-OCT was bound to the vitamin D receptor (VDR) in intact cells at the same rate as 3H-1,25-(OH)2D3. As previously found for 1,25-(OH)2D3, the time course of specific binding of OCT was biphasic, with an initial plateau at 1 h and a further increase from 2-8 h. Scatchard analysis demonstrated that exposure to 3H-1,25-(OH)2D3 increased VDR from 24 fmol/mg protein at 2 h to 85 fmol/mg protein at 8 h. Exposure to 3H-OCT increased VDR from 22 to 76 fmol/mg protein, indicating that OCT is also capable of up-regulating the VDR in ROS 17/2.8 cells. In contrast to the lower affinity of OCT for VDR reported for chick intestine and HL-60 cells, the Kd for OCT in intact ROS 17/2.8 cells was identical to that for 1,25-(OH)2D3. The effect of OCT on osteocalcin secretion and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in ROS 17/2.8 cells was also determined. Pretreatment for 24 h with either 1,25-(OH)2D3 or OCT resulted in a dose-dependent enhancement of osteocalcin secretion. A 2-fold stimulation by both compounds was observed with 10(-7)M. ALP activity was measured after a 72-h incubation with 10(-7)M 1,25-(OH)2D3 or OCT. Both compounds increased ALP activity to the same extent. Stimulation by OCT of VDR levels, ALP activity, and osteocalcin secretion were inhibited by the addition of 5 microM cycloheximide, indicating that these actions of OCT require new protein synthesis. Thus, OCT, like 1,25-(OH)2D3, up-regulates the vitamin D receptor, stimulates osteocalcin secretion, and increases ALP activity in ROS 17/2.8 cells, suggesting that the analog may be as active as 1,25-(OH)2D3 in stimulating bone formation in vivo. The low activity of OCT in mobilizing calcium from bone in vivo does not appear to be due to an inability of this compound to act on osteoblasts.