Phagocytosis and trypsin-resistant glass adhesion by osteoclasts in culture.

Osteoclasts were cultured in vitro and tested for the functions normally associated with cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system. They were found to ingest glutaraldehyde-fixed red cells and latex, but not opsonised or complement-coated sheep red cells. Osteoclasts are glass-adherent and resist removal by trypsin. The implications of these findings for the identity of the osteoclast precursor cell and its mechanism of fusion are discussed.