Osteoblasts provide a suitable microenvironment for the action of receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand.

Deficiency of osteoprotegerin (OPG), a soluble decoy receptor for receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL), in mice induces osteoporosis caused by enhanced bone resorption. Serum concentrations of RANKL are extremely high in OPG-deficient (OPG(-/-)) mice, suggesting that circulating RANKL is involved in osteoclastogenesis. RANKL(-/-) mice exhibit osteopetrosis, with the absence of osteoclasts. We examined the requirements for osteoclastogenesis using OPG(-/-) mice, RANKL(-/-) mice, and a system involving bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2)-induced ectopic bone formation. When collagen disks containing BMP-2 (BMP-2-disks) or vehicle were implanted into OPG(-/-) mice, osteoclast-like cells (OCLs) and alkaline phosphatase-positive OCLs appeared in BMP-2-disks but not the control disks. F4/80-positive osteoclast precursors were similarly distributed in both BMP-2- and control disks. Cells expressing RANKL were detected in the BMP-2-disks, and the addition of OPG to the disk inhibited OCL formation. Muscle cells in culture differentiated into alkaline phosphatase-positive cells in the presence of BMP-2 and accordingly expressed RANKL mRNA in response to PTH. This suggests that RANKL expressed by osteoblasts is a requirement for osteoclastogenesis. We then examined how osteoblasts are involved in osteoclastogenesis other than RANKL expression, using RANKL(-/-) mice. BMP-2- and control disks were implanted into RANKL(-/-) mice, which were injected with RANKL for 7 d. Many OCLs were observed in the BMP-2-disks and bone tissues but not the control disks. These results suggest that osteoblasts also play important roles in osteoclastogenesis through offering the critical microenvironment for the action of RANKL.