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Updated: May 23, 2026

A RANKL-based Osteoclast Culture Assay of Mouse Bone Marrow to Investigate the Role of mTORC1 in Osteoclast Formation
Published on: March 15, 2018
Glutaredoxin2 isoform b (Glrx2b) promotes RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis through activation of the p38-MAPK
Jeong-Tae Yeon1, Sik-Won Choi, Kie-In Park
1Department of Anatomy & Institute for Skeletal Diseases, School of Medicine, Wonkwang University Iksan, Korea.
Abstract:
Receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) triggers the differentiation of bone marrow-derived monocyte/macrophage precursor cells (BMMs) of hematopoietic origin into osteoclasts through the activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases and transcription factors. Recently, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant enzymes were shown to be closely associated with RANKL-mediated osteoclast differentiation. Although glutaredoxin2 (Glrx2) plays a role in cellular redox homeostasis, its role in RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis is unclear. We found that Glrx2 isoform b (Glrx2b) expression is induced during RANKLmediated osteoclastogenesis. Over-expression of Glrx2b strongly enhanced RANKL- mediated osteoclastogenesis. In addition, Glrx2b-transduced BMMs enhanced the expression of key transcription factors c-Fos and NFATc1, but pre-treatment with SB203580, a p38-specific inhibitor, completely blocked this enhancement. Conversely, down-regulation of Glrx2b decreased RANKL- mediated osteoclastogenesis and the expression of c-Fos and NFATc1 proteins. Also, Glrx2b down-regulation attenuated the RANKL-induced activation of p38. Taken together, these results suggest that Glrx2b enhances RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis via p38 activation.
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