The effects of parathyroid hormone on osteoblast-like cells from embryonic chick calvaria

A bone cell fraction was isolated from 16 day old embryonic chick calvaria using a sequential enzymatic digestion procedure. The fraction contained cells, of an osteoblast-like character, which responded to parathyroid hormone (PTH) and prostaglandin E2, but not to calcitonin, in terms of increased production of cyclic AMP. Primary cultures of cells maintained their responsiveness to PTH for at least 2 weeks after reaching confluence. Production of alkaline phosphatase by the bone cells was inhibited when 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 was added to cultures at concentrations of 10(-8)M or greater. When cells were cultured in the presence of PTH a biphasic effect was observed; alkaline phosphatase levels were stimulated at low concentrations of this hormone but were decreased at higher concentrations. The latter finding appears consistent with observations that PTH can in vivo exert either anabolic or catabolic effects on bone, depending upon the circulating level of hormone present.