[Separation of osteoclasts from bird medullary bone by sedimentation at unit gravity]

A procedure for the isolation of osteoclasts from the heterogeneus population of medullary bone and marrow cells is presented. Cell suspensions were prepared from medullary bone of laying hens by mechanical dispersion. Following an osmotic shock and two 90 min unit gravity sedimentations, fractions highly enriched in osteoclasts were collected and subsequently cultivated in MEM with FCS. Ara C was added to the cultures for 48h to remove all the cells entering the mitotic cycle. The advantages and the possible applications of the method are discussed.