Simultaneous assessment of bone resorption and formation in cultures of 22-day fetal rat parietal bones: effects of parathyroid hormone and prostaglandin E2.

We have developed a method that allows us to measure bone resorption and formation simultaneously in the parietal bones from 22-day fetal rat calvaria. Parietal bones labeled with 45Ca, by injection of the mother, were cultured for 72 h with parathyroid hormone (PTH, bovine 1-34, 1.56 nM) or prostaglandin E2 (PGE2, 100 nM), in the presence or absence of indomethacin (Indo, 1 microM) or corticosterone (Cort, 1 microM). Two hours prior to the end of the culture, the bones were pulsed with [3H]-proline or [3H]-thymidine. Resorption was assessed as the percent of 45Ca released into the medium. Incorporation of [3H]-proline into collagenase digestible protein (CDP) and of [3H]-thymidine into DNA (TDR) were measured to assess collagen and DNA synthesis, respectively. Basal %45Ca release was 16 +/- 1% and was significantly decreased by Indo and Cort. Cort decreased TDR and CDP while Indo did not. PTH and PGE2 significantly increased %45Ca release, and this was not blocked by Indo. However, in the presence of Cort, only PTH increased %45Ca release while PGE2 did not. PGE2 increased TDR under all culture conditions while PTH increased TDR only in the presence of Cort. While PTH and PGE2 had the same effects on bone resorption, they had different effects on CDP. PGE2 increased CDP in the presence of Indo or Cort but PTH did not. Thus, this model allows us to study bone resorption, collagen synthesis, and DNA synthesis simultaneously. We have also shown that PTH and PGE2 differ in their sensitivity to inhibition of resorption by Cort and in their effects on bone formation.