Abstract
Osteoprotegerin (OPG), a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, is known to inhibit osteoclastogenesis by acting as a soluble decoy receptor for the receptor activator of NF-kB ligand (RANKL). We report the presence of OPG on the membrane of osteoclasts and the possibility of the direct action of OPG on them. Highly pure osteoclast precursors were isolated from mouse long bones and induced to differentiate into mature osteoclasts by M-CSF and soluble RANKL (sRANKL). The presence of OPG on the membrane of these cells was confirmed by western blotting and immunostaining. Furthermore, sRANKL was found to be bound to the OPG on the osteoclast precursors. These results suggest that OPG might have a new role during the differentiation of osteoclasts beyond its role as a soluble decoy receptor. The mechanism of the existence of OPG on osteoclast precursors remains to be found.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
About this article
Cite this article
Woo, K., Choi, Y., Ko, SH. et al. Osteoprotegerin is present on the membrane of osteoclasts isolated from mouse long bones. Exp Mol Med 34, 347–352 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2002.49
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/emm.2002.49
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Heat Generated by Dental Implant Drills During Osteotomy—A Review
The Journal of Indian Prosthodontic Society (2014)
-
Semen astragali complanati- and rhizoma cibotii-enhanced bone formation in osteoporosis rats
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2013)
-
RANK, RANKL and osteoprotegerin in bone biology and disease
Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine (2009)