First published online 7 March 2006
doi: 10.1242/jcs.02883
Journal of Cell Science 119, 1283-1296 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
Wnt signalling in osteoblasts regulates expression of the receptor activator of NF
B ligand and inhibits osteoclastogenesis in vitro
Gary J. Spencer1,*,
Jennifer C. Utting2,
Sharon L. Etheridge1,
,
Timothy R. Arnett2 and
Paul G. Genever1
1 Biomedical Tissue Research, Department of Biology, University of York, PO Box 373, York, YO10 5YW, UK
2 Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

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Fig. 1. RT-PCR analysis of Wnt signalling components in osteoblastic cells. (A) Secreted Wnt ligands, (B) Frizzled receptors (FZD), (C) secreted frizzled related peptides (SFRPs), (D) intracellular signalling components, (E) transcriptional machinery and (F) TCF/LEF transcription factors.
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Fig. 2. Nuclear translocation of ß-catenin in osteoblasts. (A) Wnt3a-conditioned medium (Wnt3a) stimulated ß-catenin translocation in MC3T3-E1 cells (arrows) compared with cells incubated with control conditioned medium (L-cells). Bar, 5 µm. (B) Dose-dependence of Wnt3a induced ß-catenin translocation in MC3T3-E1 cells. No effect was observed in cells exposed to L-cell conditioned medium at all concentrations tested. (C) Dkk-1 inhibited the nuclear accumulation of ß-catenin induced by 25% Wnt3a in MC3T3-E1 cells (mean ± s.e.m., n=12; **P<0.01, ***P<0.001; n.s., not significant).
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Fig. 3. Mimicking Wnt signalling in osteoblasts stimulates ß-catenin nuclear translocation and TCF/LEF-dependent transcriptional activation. (A) Inhibition of GSK3ß with LiCl (20 mM) stimulated ß-catenin nuclear translocation in SaOS-2 cells (arrows) compared with NaCl controls. Bar, 5 µm. (B) Inhibition of GSK3ß with LiCl (20 mM) stimulated TOPFLASH TCF/LEF gene transcription in SaOS-2 cells compared with cells incubated with vehicle alone or those transfected with control reporter containing mutant TCF/LEF binding sites (FOPFLASH). Mean values are shown ± s.d., n=4. (C) Time course of LiCl-stimulated gene transcription in MG-63 cells. LiCl stimulated TCF/LEF reporter gene transcription from 5 hours post treatment (mean ± s.e.m., n=8; ***P 0.001).
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Fig. 6. Wnt signalling inhibits osteoclastogenesis in mouse primary osteoblast/mononuclear spleen cell co-cultures. (A) Inhibition of GSK3ß with LiCl (5-20 mM) inhibited the formation of TRAP-positive multinucleated cells compared with cells incubated with NaCl (5-20 mM) over 12 days in culture. (B) LiCl inhibited mononuclear cell fusion (arrows indicate characteristic cell fusion in control cultures; open circles, mononuclear cells; dashed arrow, rare fused cell in LiCl-treated cultures). TRAP stained osteoclasts predominate in NaCl-treated cultures but are absent in LiCl treated cultures. DIC, digital interference contrast. (C) Wnt3a conditioned medium (Wnt3a) inhibited the formation of TRAP-positive multi-nucleated cells compared with cells incubated with control conditioned medium (L-Cell) over 12 days in culture. Values are mean ± s.e.m., n=5; ***P 0.001; n.s., not significant.
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Fig. 7. Expression of LRP5 and LRP6 Wnt co-receptors by osteoblasts, osteoclast progenitors and mature osteoclasts. (A) RT-PCR demonstrating expression of LRP5 and LRP6 using cDNA generated from human osteoblastic cells (MG-63, SaOS-2 and TE85), primary human osteoblasts (HOB), mouse spleen and mature osteoclasts derived from human long-term bone marrow cultures. (B) Histogram illustrating the purity of CD14+ cells determined by flow cytometry following isolation from the mononuclear (MNC) fraction of human peripheral blood by magnetic activated cell sorting. RT-PCR demonstrating expression of LRP5 and LRP6 by CD14- (depleted) and CD14+ (enriched) cells is shown on the right. The PCR product obtained using SaOS-2 cDNA is shown for comparison.
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Fig. 8. Effects of Wnt signalling on human osteoclast formation and activity. Wnt3a (10-100 ng/ml) had no effect on the formation of TRAP-positive multinucleated osteoclasts generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells cultured in the presence of RANKL and M-CSF (open bars) and had no effect on their resorptive activity (closed bars). Data are mean ± s.e.m., n=5.
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Fig. 9. Evidence for endogenous Wnt signalling in mature osteoclasts. Fluorescent immunolocalisation of ß-catenin in mature disaggregated rat osteoclasts. ß-catenin predominately localised to nuclei with some peripheral staining (green). Multinucleation is disclosed by DAPI (blue) and peripheral actin ring formation, typical of active bone resorbing osteoclasts is stained with Rhodamine-phalloidin (red). Bar, 10 µm.
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Fig. 10. Effects of recombinant Wnt3a on the survival and activity of mature osteoclasts. Osteoclasts were generated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells cultured in the presence of RANKL and M-CSF for 14 days, and treated with recombinant Wnt3a (50 ng/ml) or vehicle alone for the final 48 hours of culture. The number of TRAP-positive osteoclasts and the area of bone resorption were quantified. Wnt3a had no reproducible effect on osteoclast survival or their resorptive activity. Data are mean ± s.e.m., n=5.
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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2006