Osteoclast differentiation factor is a ligand for osteoprotegerin/osteoclastogenesis-inhibitory factor and is identical to TRANCE/RANKL.
Yasuda H,
Shima N,
Nakagawa N,
Yamaguchi K,
Kinosaki M,
Mochizuki S,
Tomoyasu A,
Yano K,
Goto M,
Murakami A,
Tsuda E,
Morinaga T,
Higashio K,
Udagawa N,
Takahashi N,
Suda T.
Research Institute of Life Science, Snow Brand Milk Products Co., Ltd., 519 Ishibashi-machi, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi 329-0512, Japan.
Osteoclasts, the multinucleated cells that resorb bone, develop from hematopoietic cells of monocyte/macrophage lineage. Osteoclast-like cells (OCLs) are formed by coculturing spleen cells with osteoblasts or bone marrow stromal cells in the presence of bone-resorbing factors. The cell-to-cell interaction between osteoblasts/stromal cells and osteoclast progenitors is essential for OCL formation. Recently, we purified and molecularly cloned osteoclastogenesis-inhibitory factor (OCIF), which was identical to osteoprotegerin (OPG). OPG/OCIF is a secreted member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor family and inhibits osteoclastogenesis by interrupting the cell-to-cell interaction. Here we report the expression cloning of a ligand for OPG/OCIF from a complementary DNA library of mouse stromal cells. The protein was found to be a member of the membrane-associated tumor necrosis factor ligand family and induced OCL formation from osteoclast progenitors. A genetically engineered soluble form containing the extracellular domain of the protein induced OCL formation from spleen cells in the absence of osteoblasts/stromal cells. OPG/OCIF abolished the OCL formation induced by the protein. Expression of its gene in osteoblasts/stromal cells was up-regulated by bone-resorbing factors. We conclude that the membrane-bound protein is osteoclast differentiation factor (ODF), a long-sought ligand mediating an essential signal to osteoclast progenitors for their differentiation into osteoclasts. ODF was found to be identical to TRANCE/RANKL, which enhances T-cell growth and dendritic-cell function. ODF seems to be an important regulator in not only osteoclastogenesis but also immune system.
PMID: 9520411 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
PMCID: PMC19881