Time-lapse microcinematography of osteocytes.

We succeeded in the isolation of osteocytes from parietal bones of 16-day-old chick embryos. Isolated osteocytes showed a typical stellate morphology. More than 95% of these cells reacted with the osteocyte-specific antibody OB 7.3. In culture osteocytes formed gap junctions with each other, as could be established by ACAS. Sixteen-millimeter time-lapse microcinematography of the cells also demonstrated the formation of intercellular connections and gap junctions, and portrayed the interaction between osteocytes and osteoclasts: osteocytes seemed to inhibit osteoclast activity. This cinematography also showed the ability of osteocytes to proliferate after they had been disconnected from each other. Thereafter these cells redifferentiated into osteoblasts that became embedded in bone matrix produced by themselves. These findings suggest that osteocytes might be involved in bone formation during remodeling.