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Pagetic osteoclasts formed in vitro: absence of paracrystalline inclusions

G D Roodman1, Y Ohsaki, M M Miller

  • 1Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, USA.

Journal of Submicroscopic Cytology and Pathology
|July 2, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Paget

Area of Science:

  • Bone biology
  • Virology
  • Cellular pathology

Background:

  • Paget's disease of bone features enlarged osteoclasts with paramyxoviral inclusions.
  • Measles virus nucleocapsid transcripts are detected in pagetic osteoclasts.
  • The role of viral infections in Paget's disease pathogenesis remains under investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To morphologically assess cultured pagetic osteoclasts.
  • To investigate the ultrastructural presence of nuclear and cytoplasmic inclusions in these cells.
  • To determine if cultured osteoclasts recapitulate in vivo viral findings.

Main Methods:

  • Pagetic osteoclasts were generated in long-term cultures from bone marrow mononuclear cells of patients with Paget's disease.
  • Ultrastructural analysis was performed on cultured multinucleated osteoclasts and mononuclear precursors.
  • Cells were derived from bone tissue affected by Paget's disease.

Main Results:

  • Cultured pagetic osteoclasts exhibited ultrastructural characteristics similar to those observed in vivo.
  • No viral-like inclusions were identified in either multinucleated osteoclasts or mononuclear cell precursors in culture.
  • The study successfully cultured osteoclasts with features of Paget's disease.

Conclusions:

  • The absence of viral inclusions in cultured osteoclasts suggests a dependence on the bone microenvironment.
  • Factors within the bone microenvironment may be necessary for paramyxoviral nucleocapsid formation in Paget's disease.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate the specific environmental factors involved.

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