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Osteoclast Derivation from Mouse Bone Marrow
Published on: November 6, 2014
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Time-lapse reveals that osteoclasts can move across the bone surface while resorbing
Kent Søe1, Jean-Marie Delaissé2
1Department of Clinical Cell Biology, Vejle Hospital/Lillebaelt Hospital, Institute of Regional Health Research, University of Southern Denmark, 7100 Vejle, Denmark kent.soee@rsyd.dk.
Journal of Cell Science
|May 6, 2017
Summary
Osteoclasts, the bone-resorbing cells, can form trenches by migrating while resorbing bone. This trench formation is faster and more extensive than the previously known pit formation, revealing a dual function in bone erosion.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Skeletal Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Bone erosion is crucial for skeletal remodeling and involves osteoclasts resorbing bone matrix and migrating.
- Current understanding suggests resorption and migration are mutually exclusive, alternating activities due to a required immobilizing seal for resorption.
- Real-time, detailed observations of osteoclast behavior during bone erosion are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of osteoclast bone resorption and migration in real-time.
- To challenge the established view of alternating resorption and migration by observing simultaneous activities.
- To characterize the properties and implications of different osteoclast erosion patterns.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing specific markers and time-lapse microscopy to observe live osteoclasts cultured on bone slices.
- Monitoring the spatial and temporal generation of resorption events.
- Analyzing the morphology and dynamics of bone erosion patterns, distinguishing between pits and trenches.
Main Results:
- Osteoclasts exhibited alternating resorption and migration, forming clusters of round pits, consistent with current views.
- Crucially, over half of the osteoclasts demonstrated lateral movement while resorbing, displacing their resorbing compartment to create long trenches.
- Trench formation events were significantly more aggressive than pit events, characterized by longer duration, faster erosion speed (2x), and longer distances (hundreds of micrometers).
Conclusions:
- Osteoclasts possess the unique ability to simultaneously resorb bone and migrate, challenging the paradigm of mutually exclusive activities.
- The formation of trenches represents a highly aggressive mode of bone erosion, integrating epithelial/secretory and mesenchymal/migratory cell characteristics.
- This dual functionality of osteoclasts warrants further investigation for its implications in bone biology and disease.
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