title: The relationship between the number of nuclei of an osteoclast and its resorptive capability in vitro.
abstract: This study examined the relationship between the number of nuclei in an osteoclast and its resorptive efficiency, as demonstrated by the size of the pit it can make in a mineralized tissue in 24 h in vitro. Osteoclasts released mechanically from prehatch chick long bones were cultured on dentine slices or on plastic dishes for periods of 6 or 24 h. The frequency distribution of the multinucleate tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive cells with different numbers of nuclei was determined: the mean number of nuclei per cell was 6.92, with a mode of 4.47% had 5 or fewer nuclei and only 11% more than 10 nuclei. The pits associated with 292 osteoclasts with known numbers of nuclei were measured using a confocal laser light microscope (Lasertec) and dedicated image analysis system, and depths, plan areas and volumes determined. There was a positive correlation between the number of nuclei per osteoclast and the volume of the pit made, but a trend for the volume resorbed per nucleus to decrease with increase in the number of nuclei per osteoclast.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, U.K.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Piper
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boyde
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001862:Bone Resorption; D002452:Cell Count; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002642:Chick Embryo; D010010:Osteoclasts / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*