title: Precursors linked via the zipper-like structure or the filopodium during the secondary fusion of osteoclasts.
abstract: We previously reported the transient appearance of an actin superstructure, called the zipper-like structure, during the primary fusion (fusion of mononuclear precursors) and the secondary fusion (fusion of multinucleated cells) of osteoclasts. Here, we focus on the actin-based superstructures that link two precursor cells during the secondary fusion event. In one type of secondary fusion, the osteoclasts transformed the podosome belts into the zipper-like structure at the site of cell contact and the apposed plasma membranes in the zipper-like structure attached to each other via a discontinuous interface. In another type of secondary fusion, the osteoclasts used a filopodium-like protrusion that linked the two cells. Both types of cell fusion required a lag period between the adhesion of the cells and the fusion of cell bodies. Thus, the secondary fusion of osteoclasts uses actin-based superstructures for cell-cell interactions before the definitive fusion of the plasma membranes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Anatomy and Developmental Biology; School of Dentistry; Showa University; Tokyo, Japan ; Research Center of Supercritical Fluid Technology; Graduate School of Engineering; Tohoku University; Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Jiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takito
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakamura