Extracellular ATP released by osteoblasts is a key local inhibitor of bone mineralisation.

Previous studies have shown that exogenous ATP (>1 µM) prevents bone formation in vitro by blocking mineralisation of the collagenous matrix. This effect is thought to be mediated via both P2 receptor-dependent pathways and a receptor-independent mechanism (hydrolysis of ATP to produce the mineralisation inhibitor pyrophosphate, PP(i)). Osteoblasts are also known to release ATP constitutively. To determine whether this endogenous ATP might exert significant biological effects, bone-forming primary rat osteoblasts were cultured with 0.5-2.5 U/ml apyrase (which sequentially hydrolyses ATP to ADP to AMP + 2 P(i)). Addition of 0.5 U/ml apyrase to osteoblast culture medium degraded extracellular ATP to