Vitamin D receptor expression in mature osteoclasts reduces bone loss due to low dietary calcium intake in male mice.

Mature osteoclasts express the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and are able to respond to active vitamin D (1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D; 1,25(OH)D) by regulating cell maturation and activity. However, the in vivo consequences of vitamin D signalling directly within functionally mature osteoclasts is only partially understood. To investigate the in vivo role of VDR in mature osteoclasts, conditional deletion of the VDR under control of the cathepsin K promoter (Ctsk/Vdr), was assessed in 6 and 12-week-old mice, either under normal dietary conditions (NormCaP) or when fed a low calcium (0.03 %), low phosphorous (0.08 %) diet (LowCaP). Splenocytes from Ctsk/Vdr mice were co-cultured with MLO-Y4 osteocyte-like cells to assess the effect on osteoclastogenesis. Six-week-old Ctsk/Vdr mice demonstrated a 10 % decrease in vertebral bone volume (p < 0.05), which was associated with increased osteoclast size (p < 0.05) when compared to Vdr control mice. Control mice fed a LowCaP diet exhibited extensive trabecular bone loss associated with increased osteoclast surface, number and size (p < 0.0001). Interestingly, Ctsk/Vdr mice fed a LowCaP diet showed exacerbated loss of bone volume fraction (BV/TV%) and trabecular number (Tb.N), by a further 22 % and 21 %, respectively (p < 0.05), suggesting increased osteoclastic bone resorption activity with the loss of VDR in mature osteoclasts under these conditions. Co-culture of Ctsk/Vdr splenocytes with MLO-Y4 cells increased resulting osteoclast numbers 2.5-fold, which were greater in nuclei density and exhibited increased resorption of dentine compared to osteoclasts derived from Vdr splenocyte cultures. These data suggest that in addition to RANKL-mediated osteoclastogenesis, intact VDR signalling is required for the direct regulation of the differentiation and activity of osteoclasts in both in vivo and ex vivo settings.