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Osteoclasts isolated from membranous bone in children exhibit nuclear estrogen and progesterone receptors

J M Pensler1, J A Radosevich, R Higbee

  • 1Department of Surgery, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL 60614.

Journal of Bone and Mineral Research : the Official Journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
|August 1, 1990
PubMed

Insights

Sex steroid hormones, estrogen and progesterone, directly influence bone resorption. Researchers found nuclear receptors for these hormones in children's osteoclasts, suggesting a direct mechanism for hormone action on bone.

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Cell Biology
  • Orthopedics

Background:

  • Osteoclasts are critical for bone remodeling and resorption.
  • The role of sex steroid hormones in bone metabolism is well-established, but direct mechanisms in osteoclasts are less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the presence and function of sex steroid hormone receptors in human osteoclasts from children.
  • To explore the potential for direct hormonal modulation of bone resorption.

Main Methods:

  • Isolation of osteoclasts from membranous bone of pediatric patients undergoing craniotomy.
  • Functional assays including tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase production and resorption lacunae formation.
  • Immunohistochemical detection and radioimmunoassay quantification of nuclear estrogen and progesterone receptors.

Main Results:

  • Isolated osteoclasts exhibited characteristic bone resorption functions.
  • Nuclear estrogen and progesterone receptors were successfully identified and quantified in osteoclasts.
  • Receptor presence suggests a direct pathway for sex steroid hormone influence on osteoclast activity.

Conclusions:

  • Human osteoclasts possess nuclear receptors for estrogen and progesterone.
  • This finding supports a direct mechanism by which sex steroid hormones can modulate bone resorption in children.
  • Establishes a potential cellular basis for hormonal effects on bone health and disease.

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