Genetic variability in osteoclast differentiation

PLEASE NOTE: This work is protected by copyright. Downloading is restricted to the BU community: please click Download and log in with a valid BU account to access. If you are the author of this work and would like to make it publicly available, please contact open-help@bu.edu.Thesis (MSD)--Boston University, Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 2008 (Prosthodontics).Includes bibliography: leaves 28-33.It is established that the coordination of osteoclast activity in conjunction with osteoblast activity gives rise to both the gross and microarchitectural features of bone which relate to bone geometry and mechanical strength. The purpose of this study was to determine if there are quantifiable differences in osteoclastogenesis related to genetic background in three inbred strains of mice that show large differences in bone structure but have similar mechanical strength in terms of final result. The bone marrow cell populations were isolated from the three inbred strains of mice [A/J, C57BL/6J (B6), and C3H/HeJ]. The number of tartrate resistant acid phospahatase (TRAP) positive cells and their potential to multinucleate in response to treatment with both M-CSF and RANKL were assessed. The total number and percentage of TRAP positive cells were B6>C3H>AJ. The number of multinucleated osteoclasts as a percentage of total cell number showed significant differences between strain B6: C3H and C3H: AJ, but no significant differences between strain B6: AJ. Finally, C3H strain had the highest number of nuclei per TRAP positive cells and AJ strain had the least with significant differences exist between all the strains. In conclusion, the three mice strains demonstrated that significant differences in osteoclastogenesis existed between these strains as related to genetic variations that exist within these stains