Bisphosphonate acts on osteoclasts independent of ruffled borders in osteosclerotic (oc/oc) mice

We examined the effects of a third generation bisphosphonate [YM-175; disodium dihydrogen (cycloheptylamino)-methylene-1,1-bisphosphonate] on osteoclasts in osteosclerotic (oc/oc) mice to elucidate the cellular mechanism for incorporation of the bisphosphonate. Osteoclasts of oc/oc mice were in direct contact with bone matrix but devoid of ruffled borders. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAPase) showed spotty localization intercellularly, whereas vacuolar H+-ATPase (V-ATPase) immunoreactivity was observed homogeneously in the cytoplasm. Upon injection of bisphosphonate, most osteoclasts lost cell polarity and were detached from bone surfaces. The detached osteoclasts underwent apoptosis as characterized by condensation of chromatin, absence of Golgi apparatus, and formation of many vesicles in the cytoplasm. Both TRAPase and V-ATPase were evenly distributed in the cytoplasm. The pyknotic nuclei of osteoclasts revealed DNA fragments as evidenced by the terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL) method. The results indicate that osteoclasts lacking ruffled borders in oc/oc mice incorporated the bisphosphonate from a site different from ruffled borders and that bisphosphonate may directly affect osteoclasts without mediating its deposition to the bone matrix.